


Walled

by FaileGaidin



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 18:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 46,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaileGaidin/pseuds/FaileGaidin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A post-apocalyptic Robin Hood, where Robin is a knife-wielding woman and Guy Gisbane gets to be a hero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I want to give a huge thank you to my artist (Casper) for the AMAZING work that she did for this story. I also have to give the biggest of props to Clo (citymusings) for holding my hand during this. And even though I promised her she would have two weeks to edit, she ended up editing almost 13,000 words in two days. This absolutely could not have been done without her.

Sometimes it was easy to forget. 

Robin knew that from the way the people around her moved, smiled, interacted with one another. These were people that she knew. Some of them were people that she had invited into her home and shared a meal with. They weren’t bad people They weren’t cruel or malicious. She didn’t even think that most of them were that greedy or selfish. It was just easy to forget. It was certainly easier to do that instead of live with the reality of what they had become. It was easier to focus on a life that looked perfect on the surface than to contemplate the life that really went on outside of the Walls. Robin knew that. She understood that. It just wasn’t as easy for her to forget. 

The apple in her hand was so green it looked as though it had come straight off of a magazine ad. She held it, staring at it as the other shoppers moved around her. Their voices blended into a dull roar that eased itself into a white noise that almost faded away. They went by her in flashes of color that were nothing compared to the apple and she paid them no mind. She just stared at the fruit. It was something she bought every time she came to the store. The green ones were her favorite, whether she was enjoying it whole after a workout or cutting it up into smaller pieces to make a pie. Apples were good. They were simple. 

Except that they weren’t.

“Questioning the validity of the apple?”

Robin smirked as her eyes slid over to Grant Gillthane. The detective might not have been Southwarren’s most eligible bachelor - that distinction went to his partner - but he wasn’t that far off the mark. A usually serious man, he all but glowed whenever he deigned to smile or laugh, and Robin enjoyed teasing him until she could get one or the other out of him. The lines around his eyes were growing deeper with age, despite the fact that his hair was still firmly blond. It would be difficult to put an age to him at all if she hadn’t been only two years behind him in school. 

“The validity of our social structure, actually.”

Grant’s smile didn’t fade, but his expression tightened around his eyes. “Dangerous questioning.”

“Only if you plan on ratting me out. I was hoping an old friend wouldn’t do that, though.”

She tossed the apple to him without warning, but Grant just snatched it out of the air and gave it a rueful glance. “And I was hoping that an old friend wouldn’t throw fruit at me. Especially apples.”

Robin gave a small shrug. “They only hurt you if you eat them,” she pointed out. “If your allergy extended to touch I would probably behave myself a bit better.”

He snorted. “I doubt it.” He tossed the apple back before reaching down for an orange. “I hear you get to play dress up tonight with all of Southwarren’s social and financial elite. I’m surprised you’re out perusing the produce when you should be getting dolled up.”

“Rumor has it that even you have to put in an appearance, Detective.”

Grant grimaced. “I think I’d rather have one of your apple pies.”

“Now, now, Grant…you’re not saying that you’d prefer death to one of the mayor’s soirees, are you? Dangerous.”

He grunted. “Seems we both have a propensity for danger, then.”

Robin couldn’t help but smile wickedly at him. “If only you knew.”

He laughed quietly at that, shaking his head and looking away for a moment. Robin couldn’t help but look at his profile, letting her eyes travel the lines of his face. It was easy to understand why so many women invited him home for dinner. From what she heard, though, Grant never accepted.

“You enjoy that, don’t you?”

“Enjoy what?”

“Keeping people on their toes.”

Robin gave a little shrug. “I think it adds a little spice to life, don’t you?”

“It certainly adds something.” He looked down at the floor, scuffing it with one shoe. “So I’ll see you tonight, then? Since it seems both of us are fated to suffer through this gala?”

“At least we won’t be suffering alone.”

Grant looked back up at her, his cheeks tinged with pink. “That does make the night sound almost endurable.”

“Well it’s nice to know how high I rate in your estimation.”

“Would it help at all if you knew that nobody else rates quite that high?”

It was her turn to blush and look away. “More than a bit.” Trying to compose herself into something other than an excitable school girl, she turned back to him and met his gaze squarely. “Tonight, then.”

Grant nodded. “Tonight.”

Robin watched him turn and walk away, her stomach doing somersaults and her heart somewhat out of rhythm. It was ridiculous the things that man did to her, and yet she looked forward to every interaction that they had. Shaking her head, she looked down at the apple in her hand for a moment before setting it back down with the others. Maybe she would make a blueberry pie instead.


	2. Chapter 2

“You should wear green. Grant can’t stop staring at you when you do.”

Robin opened her mouth to argue with her brother, but Will beat her to it. Robin watched in the mirror as her sister glided across the room and draped herself over the couch with a smirk.

“Grant always stares at her. You’ve got him pretty well hooked, Robbie.”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname. Will was the only one that ever called her that. “I do not have anyone ‘hooked,’ Willow. Grant and I are just friends.”

“Friends do not look at each other like that,” Will asserted.

“What about you?” Robin asked, quickly changing the subject. “What are you wearing tonight?”

Her sister gave a careless shrug, tucking a strand of her long dark hair behind one ear. “Probably something red and slinky.”

“Very classy,” Tuck offered.

“You know me.”

“If you wear red, we’ll look like Christmas,” Robin pointed out.

Will grimaced. “Absolutely not. I’ll wear black. Though I would like you to note the sacrifices I’m making for your love life.”

Robin studied herself in the mirror for a long moment. She entertained the thought of wearing the green dress she had in her closet. She even imaged the look in Grant’s eyes when he saw her in it. The vision swam in front of her for just a few seconds before she forced herself to let go of it with a quiet sigh.

“No…being noticed is the exact opposite of what I want tonight. Black would probably be best for all of us.”

Tuck moved out of the doorway, crossing the room until he was standing right behind her. Robin raised her eyes to meet his in the reflection, and she found him smiling down at her kindly. He was dressed down, his priest’s collar the only indication of his position. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Wear the green,” he urged gently. “Everyone knows you look great in it, and you’ll probably catch more attention if you don’t wear it. The two of you are good. Even if Grant can’t take his eyes off of you, you’ll still pull the job off. You always do.

“You two are boring,” Will complained, “and sappy.”

Robin quirked an eyebrow and turned away from the mirror so that she could look directly at her. “Is that jealousy I hear?”

Will let out a very un-ladylike snort. “Hardly.”

“So do you not believe in love in general, or just for yourself?”

“At some point in our lives,” Will explained, “we all have to decide if love is going to be a sport or a way of life. I prefer the former. It works for me.” She rose from the couch, doing it with such an effortless grace that Robin found herself envious. Will had no problem switching from a crass tomboy to a high-class woman of repute, and she could nail every part in between, too. Sometimes Robin was sure that her little sister could take over the world if she really wanted to.

“So you don’t really love anyone?” Tuck asked.

The pain in Will’s eyes was fierce and quickly gone. Robin didn’t think Tuck saw it. But then Will’s smile was back, and it was warm and genuine as she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

“Family is different, Tuck,” she said softly. “Don’t be an asshole.”

He frowned at the language, but refrained from commenting. Instead, he returned her smile and kissed her forehead.

“We love you, too, Will.” He hesitated slightly and then looked as though he changed his mind about what he had been going to say. “You two should get ready. You know how Mom is if we’re late.”

“I’m not sure who’s worse,” Robin said. “Mom or John.”

“Mom,” the others replied in unison.

Robin frowned. “Maybe for the two of you,” she muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

They ended up being ten minutes late, but it was more by design than anything else. They all knew that their mother and John would have something to say about it, but perfectly punctual attendance was never really expected at galas. Most people arrived forty-five minutes or even an hour late.

Of course, most people’s mothers weren’t a Regent.

Robin might have grown up only knowing mayors and regents, but her mother had always insisted on a well-rounded education, and that included learning about what the world had been like before the Walls. She knew about presidents and queens, tzars and dictators. She knew that different places ruled their people in different ways, and that once upon a time, walls hadn’t separated people from one another.

Not that it mattered anymore. The Walls were there, and the power structure within them was fairly simple. The Mayor lived within the First Wall. He was chosen by the Regents, who lived within the Second Wall with the rest of the wealthy, along with those deemed to have indispensable jobs. Police officers, teachers, doctors, nurses, fire fighters…though they were often considered a “sub-set” of the Second, they still lived within its safety. Everyone else lived within the Third Wall, closest to the world that had once been crowded and chaotic, if the histories were to be believed.

Robin had been to the Third a couple dozen times or so. Crossing through wasn’t easy, and there were patrols that liked to arrest first and ask questions later. There were ways, though; Tuck’s parish was very involved in getting food and clothing through the Wall, and there wasn’t much he would deny one of his sisters - especially when he believed so much in the cause.

“You’re late.”

Robin rolled her eyes as she turned to face her brother John. In truth, none of her siblings looked anything like each other, but that was to be expected, since they were adopted.

John did look good, though. He always made it a point to. He would succeed their mother as Regent when she eventually gave up the mantle, and appearance was everything for a Regent. They might not have needed votes like the presidents of old did, but the Regents as a whole were like sharks. It took an iron grip to hold on to one’s family and standing. No one knew that better than Robin’s mother.

She stepped up to her brother and embraced him tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Comparatively, I’m appallingly early.”

“You know what Mom would have to say to that.”

“Some reproachful indictment about how adopting other’s personal standards for yourself is lazy.”

“Don’t forget the part where it does a disservice to one’s growth and therefore one’s responsibilities to society.”

It was something they had all heard from their mother on more than one occasion. “Right,” Robin laughed. “Can’t neglect one’s growth. Where is the old bat, anyway?”

“Standing right behind you.”

Though the tone was cold, Robin turned to find her mother wearing a kind smile that matched her own. Rachel Hueller was known for epitomizing class, and that night was no different. Her dress somehow had the iridescence of a pearl, with extra gems that glittered around her shoulders. Her grey hair was swept up behind her head, not a strand out of place. 

Robin knew many of the Regents to be imperious and distant with their children, but she’d had a completely different experience. She stepped forward and hugged her mother tightly. It lasted a bit longer than usual and there was an extra squeeze before they stepped apart again.

“Green always was your color,” Rachel observed. “You look absolutely breathtaking.”

“And you manage to look like a queen with hardly any effort at all. It seems terribly unfair.”

Rachel reached out an tucked some hair behind Robin’s ear. “Never underestimate the beauty others see in you, my dear. You do yourself a great disservice.” Her gaze lingered as she stared at her oldest daughter. Then she took a deep breath and turned to John. “More guests are arriving, which means we should get to work.” Her eyes slid back over to Robin. “I take it you can keep yourself occupied amidst all of the elitist snobbery you detest so much?”

“I think I can manage.”

“See that you do.”

John held out his arm, ever the gentleman. “Ready?”

Rachel linked her arm with his, the smile on her face subtly shifting. Robin didn’t think that anyone aside from Rachel’s children would notice the difference, but it was there. Her mother was the best actress she’d ever met, and the political life within the Walls was the biggest show around. Robin often wondered if her mother loved the game, or simply did it because she was so damn good at it. Either way, she took her duties seriously, and Robin couldn’t help but watch in awe as Rachel and John played their parts.

“She’s good.”

Robin recognized the voice immediately, steeling herself against the instinctual flinch. He stood right behind her, heedless of the fact that he was far too close to be polite or appropriate. The breath of his words actually made a strand of her hair dance across her shoulder, the sensation making her skin crawl. She didn’t like most people in her personal space, and this man was no exception.

Regardless, Robin took a steadying breath and turned around with a civil smile on her face. She made sure the movement included a subtle step backwards as well - a lesson she was very grateful to her mother for imparting.

“Detective,” she greeted. “How pleasant to see you again.”

He smiled down at her, his eyes taking all of her in before settling on her face. “I would hope that seeing me rates a little higher than ‘pleasant.’”

Most other women in the city would have happily agreed with him. Even Robin couldn’t deny that Sam Norrington was an extremely attractive man. His dark hair and beard were always perfectly trimmed, and his clothes were obviously tailored. They showed off his broad shoulders and muscular build well. On top of the good looks, he was considered to be on the fast track to prominence within the city. He might be just a detective now, but Robin had heard gossiping whispers about higher positions - she’d even heard the word “Mayor” being thrown about. She fervently hoped that never came to pass.

“I hope you’re not fishing for compliments,” she replied, easily sidestepping his bait. “There are plenty of women who would be more than happy to maintain your ego.”

“And yet there’s only one I care about.”

Robin let her eyes do a quick sweep of the room, but there was no one close enough to give her an easy exit. She had a hard time understanding why Sam was fixated on her - she was certain she’d never done anything to encourage his attention. But every time their paths crossed, he seemed to go out of his way to seek her out. Lately she’d noticed that he was trying to get her alone as well. She didn’t like where things seemed to be going.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she chided, keeping her voice gentle so as not to offend. “There are many other women far more suited for your affections.” Robin turned her body slightly to see her mother and John speaking with the Mayor. “And as for your earlier statement, yes. My mother is very good at her job.”

Sam stared down at her for a moment before he also turned to look at Rachel. “Something she seems to have passed down to the next generation. It’s amazing, really. It’s almost as if all of you were her real children.”

Robin froze. She had never been ashamed of being adopted, and her mother had never treated her or her siblings as anything less than full-blooded children. Sam’s comment, however, was obviously retaliation for her refusal to swoon and flirt with him.

“That’s one of the many great things about my mother,” she said coldly. “She treats family like family, no matter where they came from.”

“That’s right,” Sam sad, taking a glass of wine from a passing waiter, “they found you outside of the Third Wall, didn’t they? I heard the tests they had to run to make sure you were clean enough took months. It’s a wonder you weren’t shot on sight. Most of the wall guards would have pulled the trigger without a moment’s thought.”

She tightened her grip on her handbag. “Guess I got lucky.”

Same smiled at her. “We all did.”

There were times that Robin wished she had her sister’s biting tongue. Will would be able to come up with barbed words that would have left Sam a bleeding mess on the floor. Robin’s anger got in her way, though. Her skin grew hot and her chest tightened; she was all too aware of the way her heart was pounding. No words came to her. She only had the intense urge to knock the smug smirk tugging at Sam’s mouth off of his face.

“Ms. Hueller?”

They both turned in surprise, but Robin grinned as soon as she saw Grant standing there. She didn’t think she’d ever been more grateful to see him. 

“Grant,” she greeted. She saw Sam stiffen at the way she addressed his partner. “I’m glad to see that you made it.”

He shrugged. “Just doing my job.” He nodded at his coworker. “Sam.”

“You clean up pretty well, Gillthane. Who’d have thought?”

Grant ignored the veiled insult and focused instead on Robin. “I hate to steal you away, but your brother is looking for you.”

Sam frowned. “John seems to be pretty busy shaking hands at the moment.”

“Actually, it’s the Father.”

Robin laid a hand on Sam’s arm in the hopes that it would make her escape easier. “I should go see what Tuck wants. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again.”

Sam placed his hand over hers and squeezed it. “Count on it.”

She did her best to keep the smile on her face as she carefully extricated her hand. With a murmured word, she let Grant lead her away, aware that Sam’s eyes followed them until they were around a corner and out of sight.

“Tuck has impeccable timing,” Robin observed once they were clear.

Grant stopped walking and turned to face her. He winced slightly. “Actually, I haven’t spoken to either of your brothers tonight.”

“Then how…?” Robin paused as she realized what he was saying. “That was very sly, Detective.”

“I hope I didn’t pull you away from a conversation you were enjoying.”

“On the contrary. You were a very welcome interruption.”

Grant blushed slightly at that, ducking his head in an attempt to hide it. “Glad I could be of service.” His gaze moved over her from head to toe and back again. It left her with a completely different feeling than when Same had done the same thing, and Robin found herself fighting down her own blush. “You look amazing,” Grant said, his voice cracking a bit.

“Thank you.” She leaned a little closer. “So what do you think my chances are for coaxing you out onto the dance floor later?”

He coughed, his cheeks still pink. “They’re certainly better than anybody else’s.”

Robin grinned. “I think I can work with that.”

Before Grant could respond, Will was gliding up to them and linking arms with her sister.

“You have no idea how much it pains me to interrupt the two of you,” she said, “but I’m afraid I need to steal Robbie for a little while.”

Grant’s eyebrows rose at that. “Robbie?”

Robin pointed at him. “Don’t you start.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Will opened her mouth, but Robin rushed on, knowing that her sister was going to say something that would embarrass the detective further.

“I’ll find you later so I can test those chances.”

He bowed his head slightly. “I look forward to it.” He nodded at Will. “Ma’am.”

They both watched him walk away before Will led them off in another direction. “We need to get ready. But on the way, you are telling me everything.”


	4. Chapter 4

One of the “privileges” of living inside the Second was that most of the prominent buildings were connected by enclosed walkways that ran between the upper floors. At night, they provided residents with a breathtaking view of the city lit up below. There were even sections where parts of the Third were visible. Many of the Second’s residents liked to visit the walkways after dinner to take it all in.

The view came with a handful of security guards, of course. Despite the fact that the people living with the Second were all supposed to be of the same level, everyone knew that that wasn’t the case. Regents and their families were at least a step above the rest, and they didn’t want anyone roaming too closely to the places that they called home. All of the guards were part of a team hired by the Regent’s Council. Robin had tried to engage a couple of them in casual conversation before, but the men mostly ignored her.

They never ignored Will.

Her sister just swept up to them with a perfectly open and beautiful smile that caught them off-guard. Robin was sure that most of them started talking to her without even realizing it. Will always had whatever effect she wanted on people, and no one outside of the family seemed immune.

Their destination was four buildings away form where the party was being held, but the two of them took their time as they crossed the walkways. To the casual eye, they just looked like two people taking a break from the social rigors of smiling and shaking hands with people they barely knew.

“So tell me about you and the good detective,” Will murmured.

“On the way back.”

Will pouted. “Oh come on, Robbie…”

“Job first,” Robin said firmly. “Boy talk later.”

“Fine.”

Despite her sister’s apparent childishness, Robin knew that Will was focused on the task at hand. Any distraction could get them caught, and that had to be avoided at all costs.

As they neared the final walkway, Robin veered off in another direction. The corridor she headed down would eventually take her to her own apartment, but she didn’t go down very far. Instead, she stopped to gaze out over the city. The lights were almost mesmerizing; the deep of the deep of the night concealed any hints about their surroundings, though even in daylight they could only see walls and buildings. The best view in the city, the one that allowed a person to see over all three walls and into the world beyond, could only be seen from the Mayor’s home. He was the only person allowed to see everything.

Robin never told anyone that the Mayor had shared that view with her once, when she was barely more than a child.

She could have stayed there for hours, lost in the lights. There were other nights for that, though, and she knew that Will would be waiting for her. Letting herself linger for just a moment longer, she turned away and moved back the way she had come, eventually taking the turn that her sister had five minutes earlier. Will stood at the far end of the corridor, the guard nowhere to be seen.

“I take it you found him a nice closet to sleep it off in,” Robin said.

Will nodded. “The Biggerson’s probably won’t enjoy the surprise too much.”

“Oddly enough, I’m not going to let myself be too concerned with their future plight.”

“Why do people always make the mistake of thinking that you’re the warm, caring sibling?”

“I think I just have one of those faces.”

“Totally unfair.”

“We all have our talents, my dear. You’ll just have to learn to be happy with yours.”

Will muttered something under her breath, but Robin was completely focused on the lock in front of them. She knelt down to get a better look at it, relieved that it was just like every other door they’d opened before. The entire city was made up of a combination of electronic and mechanical locks as an added measure against thieves and trespassers. The combinations were normally set up so that one had to be dealt with before the other in proper order, or the entire system would freeze and refuse entry. Robin glanced up at her sister.

“The electronic component?”

“Disengaged. You’re good to go.”

Robin nodded and pulled out her lock pick set. It was an item expressly forbidden within the Second, and the black market that every city inevitably grew didn’t even deal with them often. Robin’s had been a gift; she expected that it had come from somewhere in the Third, since restrictions weren’t as heavily monitored there. At least not when it came to the underground merchandise.

She took a calming breath before getting to work. Will didn’t make a sound, but Robin could feel the coiled tension rolling off of her. Even without looking, she knew that her sister was scanning their surroundings relentlessly. Robin wasn’t sure what they would say if anyone caught them, but that had always been Will’s contingency plan. Robin didn’t even ask.

The door took less than ninety seconds and then they were inside, the door shutting behind them a welcoming sound. Will immediately moved to the alarm system on the wall near the entrance.

“Everything looks good,” she said, eyes moving over the data readouts on the screen. “Our entrance wasn’t even registered. No silent alarms, either.”

The two of them didn’t waste any time moving through the darkened store. Though there was no overhead lighting, the cases containing millions of dollars worth of jewelry had small lights inside of them. The jewels glimmered and Robin decided they looked better this way than they did during normal business hours. They actually seemed to be on special display, with nothing else to distract from their beauty.

They had both been to this particular store multiple times. Hanafords had been providing jeweled adornments to the families of Regents since the Walls had gone up, and their reputation was the best. Robin had always like the current owner, but the old man’s politeness masked a cold apathy towards anyone outside of his customers. It may not have seemed like much, but it was enough to assuage her guilt for what they were doing.

They ignored the glittering all around them, instead moving for a staircase that led off behind the main counters. It took them up to the next floor, where there was just a single room. Robin had only seen it once before, when her mother had returned a bracelet that had broken halfway through an important dinner. Mr. Hanaford had been profusely apologetic, of course, offering her mother any number of things to make up for the embarrassment. Rachel Hueller had quietly requested that it be fixed on the spot, which was how he ended up leading them to his private office. Robin honestly didn’t remember must about the room, but she didn’t think it had changed very much.

“Safe is on the far wall,” Will murmured.

She stepped forward to take the lead. An old painting hung over a highly organized work bench, and Robin found herself staring at it. This she remembered. It had entranced her as a child, and it seemed to still hold some power over her.

Robin had never seen the ocean with her own eyes. She couldn’t even be completely sure that it was still out there. But looking at the tumultuous waves that were forever immobile in the picture before her filled her with a longing that made her insides hurt. She tried to imagine what it would feel like, sound like, smell like if she could stand on a beach somewhere and stare out at the water. With no actual experience to draw on, though, she knew that she was probably laughably far off the mark. It didn’t stop her, though. She wanted to live and breathe the scene she was staring at. At least, she wanted the chance to.

“Robin!”

The urgency in her sister’s voice snapped her out of her daydream. Will was staring at her, worry creasing her forehead. 

“I’m here,” Robin assured her.

“You sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Your lock taken care of?”

“Yep. As usual, I was doing the heavy lifting while you were daydreaming. I’m pretty much the lookout at this point.”

“An important job, I might add,” she said, stepping up to the painting that was still over the safe. “Wait, how did you…”

Will grinned in the darkness. “All in good time, Robbie. Maybe I’ll trade my secrets if you tell me what happened with Grant.”

“Maybe you should bite me.”

Will’s eyebrows climbed at that. “You know what would happen if anybody else heard you say that, right?”

Robin knew that the phrase had been popular before the Walls were a necessity. She also knew that it was in very poor taste given the recent history that had given rise to the cities and Regents and Mayor. In less intimate company, a phrase like that could get a person ostracized, no matter their social standing. Maybe even worse. She found herself wondering when her tongue had become so careless.

“Snarky slip,” she said, dismissing it. “I think everyone here has had their fair share of those in the past.”

“Mine usually couldn’t be taken as traitorous, though.”

“Oh for the love of God,” Robin sighed. “It’s not traitorous. In poor taste, perhaps. I’d even go so far as to say disrespectful…”

“Regardless,” Will cut in, her tone oddly serious. “Things like that could get us on radar that we can’t afford. I’m just saying…let’s watch our words, okay? Like Mom taught us.”

A part of her wanted to argue, embarrassed that she had had to be scolded by her younger sister. Will wasn’t wrong, though, and finally Robin just nodded and turned back to the painting. Carefully, she ran her finger along the outside edge of the frame, searching for any kind of trip wires that might set off an alarm. When she didn’t feel anything, she pulled the bottom away from the wall slightly and peeked behind it. Still she saw nothing, and she looked back over her shoulder to share a look with Will.

“Looks like we’re good.”

“Let’s get this done, then.”

Robin gripped the painting with both hands and lifted it away from the wall complete. No alarms went off that they could hear, and she didn’t see anything on the wall that would make her suspect a hidden sensor. There was just the safe, as they were expecting, though there was definitely something odd about it. Normally the digital display above the number pad would be showing something to indicate that it was powered and operational. Robin’s eyes narrowed as she took in the fact that this one was completely dark. It was Will’s job to handle the electronics, but she hadn’t even taken the painting off the wall to do it. 

“I was serious about telling you later, Robbie. Let’s get out of here. My skin is starting to itch.”

Will always got that way near the end of a job; instead of annoying her, Robin found it useful in keeping a steady pace. If Will was starting to feel antsy and a little bit nervous, then it was high time they thought about wrapping things up anyway. 

This time, Robin only pulled out one piece of her lock pick set. A small hole in the bottom left corner of the safe door was just big enough for the pick to slide in, and she kept her movements gentle and steady. Ramming the pick in and blindly fishing around never really achieved anything. Some safes would go into an automatic lockdown at the invasion; others had secondary alarm systems that would go off. Even if neither of those things happened, the chances of actually picking the lock using that method were slim to none. A job like this took finesse and a degree of calm that most people didn’t have. 

Will had started tapping her fingers against her thigh, but Robin forced that from her awareness. She took a deep breath and inserted the pick, closing her eyes as she started to search for the pattern that would unlock the door. There was a distinct art to getting into things you weren’t supposed to, and a joy in it that Robin actually found to be quite calming. She knew that for many it would be about the adrenaline and the thrill - though she had never asked, she assumed that Will fit more closely into that group - but for her there was a peace. Her heart rate didn’t increase as she worked on the lock. She might succumb to the rush once her part was done, but for now, she was completely steady. 

She didn’t time herself, but from experience she knew that it was only a couple of minutes before the lock clicked softly and the door released. Allowing herself a small smile, Robin took a hold of the handle, her black glove keeping the secret of her fingerprints or DNA. 

“Will.”

They didn’t speak as they emptied the safe. They didn’t count the money or examine anything else inside. They simply put their newly acquired wealth into the narrow bags they kept strapped to their legs underneath their dresses. When they were finished, Will examined her sister critically.

“Nothing showing.”

Robin returned the favor before closing the safe again and re-engaging the lock. Will was already heading for the door as she hung the painting back in place, making sure that it wasn’t crooked. The waves tried calling to her again, but her sister’s impatience to be out of the store was more demanding, and Robin turned away.

As they went back downstairs and left the store, they made sure to leave everything just as they had found it. It wasn’t long before Will was gently closing the main door behind them and they were back in the corridor, slightly heavier from the money but relieved to be in a more public space. Without any hesitation, they began walking back towards the party, for all intents and purposes looking like two women who had just needed a break from a dull political gathering.

“So,” Will began, “tell me about Grant.”

“I think I’d rather hear your secret first.”

“I’m pretty sure I asked first. To be fair, though, I really want to tell my story, so I’ll let you win.”

“That’s quite magnanimous of you.”

Will shrugged one shoulder. “I’m a giver. Anyway…I’m sure you noticed that I didn’t exactly have to get up close and personal with that safe in order to disable its electronic locks.”

“I did indeed. It was almost as though I was doing all of the heavy lifting.”

“On the contrary - it just means that I was better prepared than you.”

“This one I have to hear.”

“And if you hush for a minute, you will.” Will paused, obviously relishing the moment. “I went to go see Ollie a couple of days ago.”

Robin was already rolling her eyes. “You don’t get to take credit because some genius with a crush on you gives you a new toy to try out!”

Will gave her a hard look before turning her attention back to the corridor they were traversing. “I disagree. He might have supplied me with the toy, but I was the one that employed it so perfectly.”

She sighed, knowing that her sister would pout for the rest of the night if she didn’t get to tell her story the way that she wanted to. Besides that…Robin really did want to know how they had gotten past all of the sensors so easily.

“Please continue.”

Will smiled brightly. “Of course. As I was saying, I went to see Ollie. He supplied me with this wonderful device that actually clones signals.”

Robin looked around, suddenly worried that someone would overhear their conversation. “And you chide me for my traitorous talk? I might catch unwanted attention with my poor choice of words, but you…”

“I never denied that I enjoy a bit of danger now and then.”

Danger was one thing, but the device that her sister was admitting to have on her body right at that moment was one of the most illegal items within all three Walls. There was no use for a signal jammer that didn’t involve actions of questionable legality - at least in the eyes of the ruling elite - and even those who lived in the Third and thrived on the underground market chose to stay away from making and selling them. The fact that Ollie was fiddling with them and then passing them on to her sister…

“But enough about me,” Will said, her tone clearly indicating that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “I want to hear about Detective Gillthane.” She held up a hand. “And before you argue with me, just remember that you promised.”

Robin didn’t remember actually giving a promise, but Will wasn’t going to let it go any time soon. “There’s not much to tell,” she said nonchalantly. “He simply rescued me from a conversation I wasn’t enjoying very much.”

“Mm-hmm. And was this conversation with another detective? His partner, perhaps?”

“Sam sought me out. To say hello.”

“No, dear sister. Sam Norrington seeks you out as often as he can because he’s infatuated with you and intends to make you his pretty trophy wife.”

Robin found herself looking around again. “Seriously, Willow! He has friends in high places - friends who could make all of our lives VERY uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, well I’m going to make HIM very uncomfortable if he doesn’t get the painfully clear message that you’re not interested soon.” She shook her head. “Grant, on the other hand…you’re allowed to marry him.”

She could feel her cheeks burning. “Stop it.”

“Oh, don’t play coy. I want to know what you meant earlier when you told him you’d be back to test your chances. Please tell me that means you’ve made a move on the man.”

“I’ve done no such thing.” She paused, not meeting the pointed gaze her sister was giving her. “I may have promised him a dance, though. Perhaps.”

Will’s smile was back and brighter than ever as she linked their arms. “Best party ever.”


	5. Chapter 5

Robin wasn’t entirely sure of what to do when they got back to the party.She wanted to find Grant, and though she’d never admit it to her sister, she really and truly wanted to dance with him. She was afraid that seeking him out might make her look desperate, though. Instead, she tried to be casual as she moved towards one of the tables laden with champagne glasses, her eyes moving across the room as she took her surroundings in. 

Her mother was talking to the Mayor, which wasn’t all that surprising. Traditionally, the Mayor was supposed to set himself apart from everyone, living alone within his privately sectioned part of the city as he ruled from a distance. The truth of the matter was that, in order to be effective instead of bullying despot, whoever held the position needed to at least confer with the Regents on a regular basis. The man who currently held the office had broken slightly with tradition and not only conferred with the Regents, but seemed to enjoy talking to most of them as well. For as long as she could remember, Robin had been aware that her mother and the Mayor were both allies and friends. It had taken her until she was older to realize that there others in the city who weren’t too pleased with that arrangement, and that there was danger in it. Her mother had never been one to shy away from a battle, though, and most people were too afraid to say anything to her face. 

Not for the first time, Robin found herself wondering if there had ever been anything more than friendship between the two of them. Her mother’s husband had been gone before she or her siblings came into the picture, and she’d rather belief that there was some kind of affair going on than that her mother had been without a companion for all those years. 

“Don’t look.” 

Robin might have been tempted to if she hadn’t instantly recognized Tuck’s voice. Instead, she continue to watch her mother and took another sip of her champagne.

“And what exactly am I not looking at?” she asked quietly.

Though she couldn’t see him, she knew that her older brother was standing on the other side of the table. Knowing him, he was making a pretense of filling his plate with the food that was laid out.

“You have an incoming visitor from the east entrance.”

“A good visitor or a bad one?”

“I don’t think you’ll be particularly overjoyed to see him. And I have to admit…if I have to keep watching him flirt with you like you’re already in the bag, I might have to break my non-violent streak.”

She couldn’t help but sigh. “Dear lord, will the man never give up?”

“He will if we let our baby sister have her way with him.”

“As entertaining as that might be, it probably wouldn’t be the best plan.”

“You might change your mind.” He hesitated, and Robin could almost feel him tense up slightly. “Go. I’ll run interference.”

“I owe you, Tuck.”

She glanced over just in time to see him throw a small smile her way. “Technically I’m paying you back for the job tonight.”

“Fair enough. Good luck.”

Without waiting for his response, she drained her glass and set it down with the other empties at the end of the table before moving in the opposite direction of the east entrance. A part of her felt bad for just dodging Sam. Maybe if she had more patience - or courage - she could nicely and effectively turn him down so that they could all get on with their lives. He seemed intent on not taking the hint, though, and sometimes Robin wondered if he enjoyed the fact that she was resistant. She didn’t exactly like what that said about him, she also couldn’t say that it would surprise her at all if that was the truth. 

“I hope you’re not leaving so early.”

Her lips immediately curling up into a smile, Robin stopped and turned to look over her shoulder. Grant stood there with his hands in his pockets, his tie loosened just enough so that it hung unevenly. It was definitely a good look on him, and she took a moment to enjoy it before meeting his gaze. 

“You really think I’d let you off the hook that easily?”

“I think I’d be disappointed if you did.”

“Well we wouldn’t want that,” she said softly.

Stepping closer, Grant reached out for her hand, and then he was pulling her onto the dance floor. There were a few other couples out there, but he didn’t lead her through them, instead, keeping them to the side and out of the spotlights. The band had started a slow song that really only encouraged people to sway from side to side as they held each other and forgot about the world around them. For Robin, the rest of the party had dropped away before Grant even pulled her into his arms. By the time they were dancing, her hand in his and their cheeks pressed together, a throaty alto voice had joined the melody, mixing together to stir something deep in the pit of her stomach. Even so, the only thing she was truly aware of was the man moving with her.

A small voice somewhere in the logical part of her brain warned that this wasn’t wise. They weren’t alone, and Robin knew that Sam would be watching, no matter how hard Tuck tried to distract him. The room was full of Regents - people who breathed politics. Everything they saw, everything they heard, went toward helping them gain power over other people. Sam was connected to those people. There was a chance that this dance could even cause problems for her mother. And though Robin would do almost anything to make things easier for the woman that had raised her, she couldn’t make herself put any of the appropriate distance between her and Grant. She couldn’t make herself make the appropriate and polite conversation that was expected of a Regent’s daughter. The only thing she wanted was the heat of his hand at the small of her back and his breath ghosting over her neck and everything else be damned. 

Things probably would have gone further if it had been up to her. The song had ended before she’d even realized it, and by the time Grant was taking half a step back from her, the other couples had already moved off of the floor. Robin hoped that the somewhat dimmed lights hid the flush that she could feel filling her cheeks, but at the same time she knew that they didn’t. She also knew that they matched Grant’s. 

Her eyes drifted down to his lips, but before she could even fully entertain the thought he was lifting her hand and pressing his mouth to the back of it. Every part of her wanted more, and for a moment she hated him for being the more level-headed of them. 

“Thank you,” he murmured.

She only just barely found her voice. “For what?”

“A quiet moment with the one person I’d choose to spend it with.”

Her voice ran away from her again and it was all she could do to just stare at him. She wanted to say something; she worried that he might get the wrong idea if she didn’t. The contented look in his eyes didn’t waver, though, and he squeezed her hand firmly before finally letting it go.

“I’ll see you soon.”

Robin nodded and Grant smiled at her. They stared at each other for the span of a few more heartbeats and then he moved past her, his fingertips brushing against her own as he went. Once he was gone, the world came rushing back to her and she looked around to see if anyone had been watching. The party seemed to be carrying on just as it had been before their dance. Robin wondered how that could be when her knees seemed to be weak and her stomach was still a tight knot. 

Pressing a hand to her ribcage, she took a few steadying breaths, willing herself back into the part that she had played since being brought within the Walls. Once her limbs had stopped shaking, she turned and headed for the nearest of her mother’s political allies. Her brother John was there as well, his perfectly constructed smile never leaving his face. Though he shot Robin a questioning glance, he wisely kept his peace and instead easily brought her into the conversation. Sometimes her role as Regent’s daughter was as light as a jacket slung over the shoulder, and before long she was engaged in a conversation with the headmaster of the largest school within the Second. 

The facade only slipped once the rest of the evening. Looking up from a conversation about the prices of apples, of all things, Robin’s gaze landed on Sam. He stood close to the stage, his body almost blending into the shadows there. His eyes were intent on something across the room, and Robin followed his line of sight, curious as to what could capture his attention so completely. When she finally found it, though, she frowned, losing track of the conversation going on around her.

Sam Norrington was staring at her mother.


	6. Chapter 6

The church was quiet. Robin closed the door gently behind her, letting the darkness wash over her. The family status meant that she sat in a pew every Sunday, but that was in a different church closer to the First. It was never dark there. Even when the building was empty, gold and silver glittered in the natural light that streamed through the tall windows. To be honest, it was probably one of the most impractical buildings erected after the world went to hell, but rich people liked their pretty things. More importantly, they liked the illusion that everything was as they thought it should be, and that meant that precautions and common sense to a backseat to aesthetics. Robin understood it, even if she thought it was more than a little insane. 

There was nothing impractical about the church she stood in now, though. It was made of stone, the walls thick and impenetrable without heavy artillery - something the monsters outside of the city would never be able to identify or operate. There were windows, but they sat high, almost near the ceiling, and since it was night, almost no light came through them. Robin could just make out the aisle in front of her, running down the center of the sanctuary. It was carpeted in a royal blue, but it was old and worn, showing signs of decades of foot traffic. She let her eyes follow the path straight to the altar that stood at the front, slightly elevated so that the entire congregation could see it. That, too, was made out of stone, with a simple white cloth that covered it. Two candlesticks stood on either end of it, and Robin knew from experience that there was a box of matches there as well, so that anyone could come and bask in a small light whenever they needed to. 

She heard a door open and close somewhere close by, but it was a few more moments before she saw the woman approaching her. JJ was almost ten years younger than Robin, but her eyes gave the impression that she’d seen the length and breadth of the world. She walked with a stride that said she wouldn’t stand aside for anybody, and the look she gave Robin wasn’t soft in any manner.

“You always do that, you know.”

Robin readjusted her jacket. “Do what?”

“Stare at the altar when you come in. Communing with your God?”

“Just observing my surroundings.”

JJ scoffed. “Maybe it’s not the best time to be daydreaming when you’re doing something that could very well get me killed.”

Robin frowned. “You’re not the only one at risk here.”

“Standing in this room right now? Yes, I am.”

“You do realize that we’re on the same side, don’t you?”

“Right,” JJ said. “Bored little rich girl looking for a little adrenaline rush and a reason to pat herself on the back. You and I have so much in common.”

“You talk to my brother like that?”

JJ paused, some of the fire going out of her eyes. “I appreciate what your brother does,” she said finally, her voice softer, “but I try not to talk to him too much.”

Robin wasn’t exactly sure how to follow that thought, and the other woman seemed to be finished talking anyway. Turning away, JJ led her on a familiar route, down towards the altar and then through a side door that led into the more administrative part of the church. Despite the fact that JJ knew the layout like the back of her hand, this wasn’t her church. People who lived within the Third couldn’t ever move further into the city - not officially, anyway. JJ’s life was on the other side of a wall that no one was ever supposed to cross without permission from the Mayor. 

Between them, JJ and Robin had crossed it more than a two dozen times. 

The office they walked into didn’t belong to anyone in particular as far as Robin knew. The only important thing about it was the coat closet on the far wall. A free-standing structure, it was made of a plain wood that might have been varnished once upon a time but was now faded and old. JJ reached out for the door handle and then stopped, turning to look over her shoulder.

“You know I could just carry it over for you.”

“No thanks.”

“Gotta salve that conscience somehow, huh?”

Robin met the other woman’s hard gaze with a matching one of her own. “I just like to see a job all the way through.”

JJ looked her up and down as though weighing her, but Robin had no idea what the final tally was. “Right.”

She then turned back to the closet and opened the door before stepping inside. There enough coats hanging that they blocked the back from any casual observer, but JJ just pushed them aside and moved past them. Robin was vaguely reminded of a story her mother had read to her when she was younger, about children that discovered an entirely different world on the other side of a wardrobe. This closet would take her someplace different as well, but there wouldn’t be any talking animals or beautiful thrones.

Instead of ending where it met the wall of the office, the closet opened up onto a dark staircase that led down. The two women pulled out their own flashlights and began to descend, neither saying a word. Robin didn’t think anyone outside would actually be able to hear them, but she had learned early on that JJ wasn’t someone that enjoyed a casual chat. She had meant everything she’d said when she called Robin a spoiled rich girl who was in it just for the rush. It didn’t matter that the assessment was wrong. JJ saw the world in a very specific way, and Robin wasn’t sure that there was much that could change her mind. She had given up trying to do so after the second time they’d made this very trip. Some things just weren’t worth the effort and frustration.

The stairs were wooden, but they had been well-maintained and there was no creaking beneath their feet. Robin had counted the steps on previous trips and knew that they numbered at 47. She counted them again as they made their way down, finding some relief in the rhythm of it. The night had been a bit of a roller coaster for her and it still took serious effort on her part to keep from reliving the dance she had shared with Grant. She knew that JJ would have even harsher words for her if she got lost in her memories, though, and Robin didn’t want to suffer a tongue lashing from the woman. Counting the last step, she forced herself to push Grant aside until she was done with the business at hand.

They were in a tunnel that ran under the Second Wall, taking JJ back to her home sector and bringing Robin to a place she wasn’t allowed to be. She had no idea who built the tunnel, or when it had been constructed. The only thing she knew was that it was here before her brother had taken over as the priest, and she imagined that it had always been used to smuggle things in or out. Legality tended to lose its importance in the face of practicality. 

It wasn’t long before the two women were making their way up another set of stairs. Her brother’s church and this one stood back to back on either side of the Second Wall. The former faced the Regents and the Mayor and everyone else who had been deemed important enough to live in comfort. The latter faced everyone else, as well as the Third Wall - the only thing that separated their city and the people from the devastation that had had nearly destroyed the world. The only protector from the threat that they were told hovered right outside, waiting to finish the job. 

The door to the matching closet was already open, and Tuck stood there to welcome them in. JJ barely did anything more than nod at him, but Robin stopped and embraced her brother. It had only been a few hours since they had last seen each other at the party, but he already looked like a completely different person. Jeans and a flannel shirt rolled up to the elbows paired with dirty hands told her that he had been out helping someone, just like he always was. 

“Everything okay?” he asked.

It was a script they followed every time they did this, and Robin nodded. “Nobody followed. We’re clear.”

“Good. Now let’s get this money off of you so that you can get back home.”

She began to unbutton her jacket. “You know, I could stay and help for a bit…”

“No.”

Robin looked up in surprise at the force of her brother’s voice. Tuck’s eyes were intense as he stared down at her. 

“What you do is dangerous enough,” he continued, his tone low so that only she could hear it. “Hell, what you do is the most dangerous part. I know you want to feel like you’re helping, Robin, but you already are. You don’t have to do anything more. You don’t have anything to prove.”

She couldn’t help herself. “Tell that to JJ,” she muttered darkly.

“Forget her,” Tuck said firmly. “What she thinks has no bearing on you or on the worth of what you do. You know that.”

She did. That didn’t stop the other woman’s obvious scorn from bothering her, but Robin forced herself to set aside the desire to be childish about it. Slipping off her jacket, she set it on the desk and gestured to the money strapped to her torso. 

“Do you mind?”

Tuck gave her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder before helping her undo the straps that held the bounty to her. Carrying the money on her person instead of carrying it in a bag had been Will’s idea originally, and it had served them well. Though Robin was good at making sure that no one ever followed her to her brother’s church, there were times that she couldn’t avoid running into someone that she knew on the way there. To keep from arousing undue suspicion, she was forced to stop and give them some of her time, trading polite conversation with people who knew nothing about her outside of her family’s station. Carrying a bag would only give those people something to observe and either mention casually or file away in the back of their minds for later. That kind of slip up could be their ruin in the end, and she was grateful that her sister had figured out a better way.

It was a relief to get the last of the money stacks off of her, and Robin rolled her neck and shoulders to alleviate the stiffness. It seemed counterintuitive that money could be heavy, but having that much of it strapped to your body as you crossed an entire sector and traveled through an underground tunnel gave the straps time to chafe. It wasn’t exactly heavy lifting, but she was always aware of the weight during the journey.

“Thank you,” Tuck said quietly, looking at the money now stacked on the desk. “This is a big help.”

She knew that he wanted her to go, but she made no move. “Has it gotten worse?”

He nodded, still not looking at her. “The taxes they’re levying against everyone in the Third are more than just cruel. They’re also cutting back on the medical supplies. Again.”

Robin shook her head in frustration. “That makes no sense! What could the Regents possibly gain by hurting so many of their people?”

“Power and money - the two most important things to some of them. The more they beat down the people living inside the Third, the more desperate they make them. And desperate people - especially desperate parents - will do anything to ensure their family’s survival. The Watch will catch more people trying to slip past the Wall and it will be touted as proof that the people of the Second aren’t safe. Instilling that fear in them will make them much less likely to ever spare a considering thought for the people that live on the other side of the Wall. If both groups distrust each other, they won’t ever band together to challenge the status quo.”

“But why would they challenge it anyway?” Robin pressed. She had tried to get these answers out of her brother before, but he always did his best to chase her back home without sating her curiosity. “If the Regents treated all of the people well and fairly, they wouldn’t have anything to fear from any of them. Nobody tries to topple a stable and efficient government.”

Tuck sighed, and she knew that he was going to try and brush her off again. Robin reached out and took a hold of his arm, tugging on it until he was forced to look at her.

“Tell me,” she insisted. “I’m risking my freedom and my life for these people, and though I don’t regret a moment of it, I do think that I deserve to know the whole story. Why are the Regents so consumed with keeping the people separated?”

Jaw clenched, Tuck stared at her for a long moment. She could see the battle in his eyes but she didn’t back down. She wanted to know. She needed to know.

“They’re afraid,” he said finally. 

“Of what?”

“Of what the people living inside the Third could tell to the rest of the city.”

Robin frowned. “I don’t understand.”

He stepped away from her then, leaning back against the desk and crossing his arms over his chest. “You were always good with history. Why do we have the city? The walls?”

She shrugged, still not understanding. “Because the world pretty much ended. If not for the cities and the walls, people wouldn’t have survived with any kind of civilization.”

“Right. And how did the world end?”

“A virus. People went mad and started attacking each other. Once you were infected, there was no stopping the disease. It changed everything that you were and left nothing but a ravenous shell in its place. It spread through the world like wildfire. A bunch of the uninfected banded together and built the cities so that they could keep themselves safe.”

Tuck was nodding. “That pretty much sums it up. Do you remember when the first city went up?”

Robin searched through her memories. “I can’t remember the exact date, but it was close to a hundred and fifty years ago.”

“A long time.”

“Well, not in the grand scope of history. But no one is alive today that saw the first city built.”

He held up one finger. “Exactly.”

Robin waited for something more, but when he stayed silent, she threw her hands up in frustration. “Stop pussyfooting around, Tuck! I’m obviously not catching your point, so just say it.”

He gripped the edge of the desk with both hands and leaned closer to her. “Nobody who saw those final days is still alive, Robin. We never leave the safety of the walls because we don’t have to. We grow or manufacture our own food. We don’t trade with any of the other cities. Hell, we don’t even have contact with them! When was the last time anybody set foot outside of that damn third wall and took a look around at the world?”

She had never heard her brother talk like that before and a small knot of dread tightened in her stomach. “What are you saying?” she whispered.

Tuck’s shoulders slumped as though the fire went out of him. “People from the Third have gone outside of the walls, Robin. They’ve gone back out into the world. And do you know what they’ve found?”

She shook her head, transfixed by his words.

“There aren’t any infected out there anymore,” he said. “Some of the people have traveled almost as far as Darien. They met others like them, from the other cities. And they all say the same thing. The virus is gone. The world is empty of people and has started to rebuild itself from the terrors its seen. We don’t need to hide behind these walls anymore.”

“But…” She stopped, struggling to comprehend what she had just heard. “But then…why wouldn’t they tell the Regents? If we could go back out into the world, we could have access to more food, and nobody would have to be suffering out there in the Third…”

“Robin,” he said softly, cutting her off, “they couldn’t get to the Regents.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because people from the Third can’t just approach a Regent. There are protocols in place. Anybody from the Third that wants to communicate with a Regent has to go through the police department. These people were unlucky enough to tell Sam Norrington their story.”

“What happened?”

“You can guess what happened, Robin. Sam Norrington has been ingratiating himself to certain Regents for years for his own ends. He knows their secrets and he knows their fears. Do you know what would happen if word got out? If the people knew that they didn’t need the protection of the city anymore and they went on their own way? Do you have any idea how much money and power the Regents would lose?”

That small knot had grown to fill her stomach now and Robin felt sick. “Those people didn’t get to go back to their families, did they?”

Tuck shook his head. “They were arrested and thrown in prison. Based on Sam’s report, the Regents intend to execute them as traitors to the city on the Day of Reckoning.”

Her eyes closed in disgust and sadness and she pressed a hand to her stomach. “How many?”

“Thirteen.” He paused. “Two of them aren’t even fifteen years old, Robin. And in just over a month they’ll be brought up in front of the city, infected with the virus, and put down like dogs. The Regents will get to keep their secrets and put an unholy fear back into the people. Two birds, one stone.”

“Oh dear Lord,” she breathed. Opening her eyes, she found him staring at her, gauging her reaction. “Does Mom know?”

He snorted. “Of course she knows. But she’s only one person. The Regents vote on everything.” He shook his head in dismay. “I don’t even think most of them realize what they’re doing, Robin. They just want to keep the status quo.” Tuck paused. “And most of them are listening too much to Sam Norrington for my taste. He whispers their darkest fears to them and then suggests ways to avoid them. He’s already been named the new sheriff behind closed doors. They just haven’t been an official proclamation yet.”

“So the Regents get what they want, and Sam gains more power and influence, so he gets what he wants…a win-win.”

“Except for the people starving and dying inside of the Third.”

“And the people set to be executed.” Robin turned away and paced the room. “Can we stop it?”

“The execution?”

“Yes.”

Tuck gave a small shrug. “There are people willing to try. It’s going to take planning and funding, though.”

“Money’s not an issue.”

“It might become one.” She stopped to look at him. “Sam knows that marrying a daughter of the old guard would secure his place in the eyes of the Regents. Mom might always stand against him, but marrying you would make it look as though he was liked by all of those in power. It would give him a validation he doesn’t have right now. He wouldn’t have to whisper things in the dark anymore. He’d be able to shout them in the streets.”

Robin scoffed. “I will never marry that man.”

“I know that. Maybe even he knows that. But he’s not a man to give up and you know that. Which means he’s going to be watching you even more closely than he already is. If he catches you…Robin, he could make you choose between death and a life with him. You might want to think about stepping back on this one.”

She stopped pacing and stared at her brother. They might not have been blood, but they had spent the majority of their lives together and she could see the concern plainly on his face. He loved her and he wanted what was best for her, even if it meant that the work he was doing became harder because of it. 

“We need a plan,” she said firmly, gaze locked with his, “and I could use a drink.”


	7. Chapter 7

Grant stood in the middle of the office, hands on his hips as he stared at the painting. He was told that it usually hung on the wall, but now it was down and leaning against the wall instead, displaying the safe that it normally hid. Everyone else in the room was focused on that safe, and on the doors, and on the security guard that had been found bound and gagged in the Biggerson’s hall closet, but for some reason, Grant found himself staring at the painting.

Just like everyone else who had been raised within the Second, he had seen pictures of oceans in plenty of his textbooks. He knew what they were, where they were, and what was supposed to live in them. He could even name a few of them. He had never experienced one, though, and he doubted that he ever would.

For some reason, that last thought made him suddenly feel older than his years.

“Dammit,” Sam growled as he stalked back into the room. “It’s just like the other times. The guard doesn’t remember a damn thing.”

Grant dragged his attention away from the painting and turned to face his partner. “Drugged with the same stuff?”

“Looks that way. We took a sample of his blood; sent it down to the lab. Not that it’ll help. Even if it’s the same drug, the lab still hasn’t managed to identify it or where it might come from.” He lashed out with a nasty kick at the nearest filing cabinet, startling everyone else in the room. “Dammit!”

Grant knew that the other man wasn’t being overdramatic, no matter what it might look like. Nobody had died, but the string of robberies had hit a number of Southwarren’s very wealthy citizens, and they were vocal in their displeasure. Sam had put a lot of time and effort into gaining their trust so that he could climb the social and political ranks; if he couldn’t find out who was behind these crimes and put a stop to it, he would lose their faith, along with everything that he had worked for. Grant may not have shared his partner’s ambitions, but he could understand why Sam would fight tooth and nail to hold onto them. 

Sam reined in his frustration as much as possible and looked around the room. “Did we get anything in here?”

Grant shook his head head. “Not really. No fingerprints, as usual. But…”

The other man’s head snapped up. “But?”

Grant shrugged. “It’s not concrete evidence. I just have a theory.”

“I’m willing to listen to pretty much anything right now,” Sam replied, stepping closer to his partner and crossing his arms. “So try me.”

“Every electronic, from the cameras in the walkways to the lock on the door, to the safe itself, they were all in perfect working condition before and after the robbery.”

“So?”

“Well, unless our thief - or thieves - are invisible and can undo locks with the power of their minds, how did they get past all of those security devices?”

Sam sighed. “They disabled them somehow.”

“They didn’t turn them off. I’ve checked the readouts on the safe lock…there were no power disturbances. Everything was on for the duration of the heist.”

Sam frowned. “That’s not possible.”

“Oh, it’s possible,” Grant countered. “A bit surprising, maybe. But I think I know how they did it.”

“And yet for some reason, you’re taking an awfully long time to get to the part where you clue the rest of us in.”

Grant let a small smirk curl at the edge of his mouth. “Come on. I’ve got a guy we should talk to.”

“I don’t have time for any wild goose chases,” Sam warned.

His partner thought about it for a moment. “Fair enough. You can stay here pouring over evidence that’s exactly the same as the last five robberies. I’ll let you know if I find anything useful on my end.”

Grant turned to leave the room, not sparing the other man another glance. Just before he reached the door, he heard a frustrated exhalation behind him and then Sam was pushing past him as he headed for the walkway.

“Let’s go,” he growled.


	8. Chapter 8

“Tell me again how you know this guy?” Sam murmured as the van carried them towards the Wall.

Grant shrugged. “I like to keep my eye on people. This guy is big into anything electronic. If someone is dealing in jammers, there’s a good chance he knows about it. Or he’s the one doing the dealing.”

His partner’s eyes narrowed. “If he’s that suspicious, why haven’t you picked him up yet?”

“Because I haven’t actually caught him doing anything wrong. And I’ve found that it’s useful sometimes just to keep an eye on people. They might be able to lead you to bigger fish later on.”

Sam grunted. “Well this guy better lead us to bigger fish, or I’m going to make him wish that he could.”

Grant watched him for a moment. “We’re just going to question him, Sam.”

“We’re going to get answers,” he countered.

Neither said anything after that. Grant was used to his partner being this focused and gruff - it was how he did the job. So far, it had served him well. Grant didn’t really enjoy being spoken to like a second-class cop, but he was good at letting the other man’s tone and condescension roll off of his back. Some things just weren’t worth starting a fight over. 

He was actually surprised that his partner wasn’t being worse, considering what had happened at the party. It was clear to everyone that Sam wanted Robin; the man had never been subtle about it, despite Robin’s clear disinterest in him. For his part, Grant hadn’t meant to fall for the woman that his coworker wanted as well, but that was how it had happened. Their dance at the party had only solidified his feelings for her, and he was fairly certain that she felt the same way. He knew that Sam had seen the dance and the way they interacted. He knew that it bothered him. There was even a part of Grant that felt bad about it, but it didn’t change the circumstances at all. He was even prepared for his working relationship with Sam to be more difficult because of it. 

Sam hadn’t said a word about the party, though, and he hadn’t been any more ill-tempered than usual. Grant wondered if perhaps that fact should worry him. The job had taught him that sometimes, when people didn’t react the way you expected them to, it was because they were letting it fester inside of them. That almost always led to an ugly confrontation later. 

Eventually the van came to a stop and the two detectives climbed out of the back, followed by the three uniformed officers who had come with them. If it had just been him, Grant wouldn’t have brought any uniforms, despite the regulations requiring him to do so. He knew what it looked like to the people in the Third when cops spilled out of a white van, guns and clubs clearly visible. He wanted people to respect the law, but he knew how quickly fear could grow into resentment and hatred. He might have been considered naive by the rest of the department, but Grant still believed that the police were there to serve the people - not to be an arm of punishment for a dictatorial government. Most of the other cops just seemed to thrive on the power rush. 

He grabbed Sam’s arm as he passed him, ignoring the look the bigger man was giving him. “Let’s start with questioning,” he said quietly enough that no one else could hear. “He might cooperate.”

Sam pulled his arm back. “He’ll cooperate.”

Wanting to keep things as calm as he could for as long as possible, Grant quickened his step and moved in front of his partner just before they stepped through the door of the shop. He knew that it might look childish to the other cops, but he needed to take and keep control of the situation. 

Ostensibly, Oliver Mackley ran an appliance store. He sold everything from wall clocks to kitchen gadgets, and he was pretty much the go-to guy for anything that ran on power. Everyone knew, though, that Ollie handled a lot more than that. There was a small office off the back of the store for the radios, trackers, and other assorted electronics that weren’t supposed to be in use by the general populace anymore. Grant had never seen the office for himself, which was one of the reasons he had never hauled Ollie in, but the little genius had all but admitted it a couple of years ago during the course of another investigation. The information he’d gathered from the shop owner had helped catch one of those “bigger fish,” and Grant wasn’t about to throw away a potentially helpful informant who really wasn’t doing any harm. 

Ollie was stocking clocks when they stepped inside. Grant had his hands in his pockets and he just looked at the younger man, a resigned expression on his face. He made it as clear as possible that this wasn’t a normal visit, which was only emphasized by the other cops standing behind him. Before any of them could say anything - or more specifically, before Sam could start in on his threatening diatribe - Ollie set down the clock that was in his hand and stepped forward, shrugging his shoulders nervously.

“Detective Gillthane,” he greeted. “Is there something I can help you with today?”

Grant was grateful for the opening. “Actually, Ollie, I think there is. Why don’t you close up shop for a little while and we can all talk? Hopefully you’ll be able to help us and then maybe we can be on our way and let you get on with your business.”

He honestly didn’t think that was going to be the case, and he could see in Ollie’s eyes that the younger man knew that. The kid just ran a hand through his short curls and nodded, though.

“Let me close up and we can talk. Always happy to help, if I can.”

Grant stepped aside, relieved when those behind him did the same. Sam didn’t step back very far, though, and as Ollie came through to lock the door and flip the sign to read ‘closed,’ the big detective did his best to loom over him. Though the two of them were nearly the same height, Sam was quite a bit broader across the chest, and Grant knew from experience that many suspects found the size of the man’s arms to be intimidating. Ollie didn’t even glance over at him, though, and Grant had to silently applaud the kid’s spunk. He just hoped it didn’t drive his partner to be more threatening.

“So, how can I help you gentleman?” he asked, turning to face them once again.

“Don’t you have an office we could sit in?” Sam asked. “Some place a bit more comfortable?”

Ollie chuckled. “My office is about the size of a closet, Detective. I don’t think any of us would be comfortable in there.” When Sam did nothing but cross his arms over his chest and continue to stare at him, the humor faded. “I do have a kitchen in back, though,” he offered. “We could go in there.”

Sam gave him a tight smile. “Sounds lovely.”

Ollie stared at them all for a moment, perhaps hoping that Sam had been making a joke, but soon realized that the detective was serious. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he led the group toward the back of the shop and a plain door on the far wall. Grant really hoped that the kid was smart enough to have his back office somewhere other than straight off the back of his shop. He knew that Sam was itching to bust this guy, whether he was involved with the robberies or not. He thought his partner might be annoyed that he had the audacity to have an informant he’d never mentioned, and Sam wasn’t above doing something petty like arresting the guy just to put Grant back in his place. There was a chance that Grant could keep that from happening, but not if Ollie’s “extra” products were found. The kid would be lucky to escape execution in that case. 

A short hallway with a bathroom on the left soon deposited them in a small kitchen. There was a round table in the center with four chairs around it, and the other usual kitchen amenities one would find in the Third. A battered refrigerator, a metal sink, an old microwave…there wasn’t anything special about the room. A single door led even further back, and Grant saw Sam notice it as his eyes swept the room. 

“I don’t have enough chairs,” Ollie started, making an apologetic wave towards his table.

“Not a problem,” Sam said, his tone suddenly more friendly. “The boys in uniform like to stand.”

He gestured at the officers and they immediately took up positions by the doors - two of them stood by the door they had just come through, while the other moved toward the back. Grant had to admit that they painted an imposing picture. Ollie just shrugged and sat down, though, waiting for the two detectives to join them. 

“There are some rumors about you, Ollie,” Grant started, trying to get control back from his partner.

“I’m sure there are, Detective. People love to talk.”

Grant chuckled. “That they do.” He let his smile turn into a slight grimace. “This is the type of rumor that could get you into trouble, though, if people got the wrong idea.”

Ollie leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Look, let’s just lay this all out there, okay? I like to tinker with things. I’m good at it, too. Watches, clocks, radios, microwaves…I’m good at figuring out how things are supposed to work, why they’re not working, and what they could do with a few little changes. My business is completely legal, and you are more than welcome to tear this place apart to prove that. But I’m sure that if anything of…questionable legality occurs, and it involves electronics that may or may not be sanctioned by the Regents, then my name is going to come up. You can go ahead and ask me your questions. I know it’s your job. But don’t be surprised if I can’t give you anything.”

Grant hadn’t expected that kind of honesty from the kid. If it had been just the two of them, or maybe even a different case, he would have given him a grudging nod of respect for it, too. To Sam, though, it was like blood in the water. The detective didn’t move, but the way his eyes lit up was the equivalent of him leaning forward like an overeager rookie.

“Are you saying that you wouldn’t give us information, even if you had it?”

Ollie barely even blinked. “I’m saying that I don’t think I’ll be able to help you. But you are more than welcome to ask any questions you need to.”

“Do you know what a signal jammer is, Ollie?” Grant asked, bringing the attention back to him.

“Yes.”

“Do you know how to make one?”

“I think so.”

“Have you been making and selling them on the black market?”

“No.”

Sam snorted. “I think you’re lying, Mr. Mackley.”

“That’s unfortunate, Detective. For both of us, I would think.”

Grant pointed to the back door, knowing that his partner was going to ask eventually anyway. “Where does that door lead?”

Ollie looked over at it and shrugged. “A back alley.”

“And why would you need a door that leads into a back alley?”

“Because it puts me out one block closer to my place? Not to mention the fact that it’s always a good idea to have more than one exit.” He turned to look at Sam. “For safety purposes.”

Sam just stared at the younger man. Though there was no expression on his face, Grant didn’t have any trouble reading him. They’d been partners long enough that the lack of expression spoke volumes. For the time being, Grand had lost control of the situation; he could do nothing but watch his partner take over. 

“Devlin,” Sam said, his voice low and dangerous while his eyes never left Ollie, “check it out.”

The officer standing at the back of the kitchen immediately turned and opened the door. As he walked outside, Grant caught a glimpse of the next street over. It was narrow, and there were only a few pedestrians moving down it. Devlin spent enough time out there that it was obvious he was observing as much as he could. It was also long enough that Grant began to wonder if Devlin was a uniform familiar with Sam and his high expectations.

Eventually, the officer stepped back in, shutting the door behind him and shaking his head. Grant inwardly sighed in relief even as he made sure to keep his body completely still. Ollie was telling the truth - about the door, anyway. 

“So,” Grant said, shifting everyone’s attention back to him, “let’s have a hypothetical conversation.”

Ollie nodded, leaning back in his seat. “Okay.”

“If you were going to rob people who lived in the Second, how would you get past the locks?”

The younger man crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to think for a moment. “There are a couple of ways someone could do it. You could use a jammer. It cuts into the signal going to the alarm.”

“Sounds pretty straightforward.”

“And illegal,” Sam added.

“We’re talking about thievery, Detective,” Ollie said. “I think the whole discussion will probably involve illegal tools and tactics.”

“You said there were a couple of ways,” Grant interrupted. “What’s the other?”

“Well, you could use a cloner. Instead of interrupting signals, it actually replaces them.”

Grant frowned. “I don’t follow.”

“The electronic locks work on signals. If you interrupt that signal with another device, there’s a good chance that an alarm will go off anyway, because the signal isn’t going where it’s supposed to.”

“Okay…”

“But if you replace the signal…” Seeing the look on Grant’s face, Ollie sat forward again. “It’s like this. The signal does one of two things. It either tells the system that everything is okay, or it tells it that something is wrong and that an alarm should go off. There are certain jammers that can send out a signal telling the system everything is as it should be, even as the original signal is interrupted and the thief gets through undetected. It’s actually pretty impressive, from a technological standpoint.”

“Where would someone even get something like that?” Sam interrupted.

“I wouldn’t know,” Ollie said, his face betraying nothing. “That’s not in my wheelhouse. Something like that could only bring trouble down on someone.”

“There might be some things worth that kind of trouble.”

“Oh, I’m quite sure there are. I’m just not sure I’ve ever been burdened with one of them.”

“You’d call that a burden?”

Ollie’s gaze was steady. “Having something worth fighting for is always a burden, Detective. It…complicates things.” He turned back to Grant. “Getting your hands on the cloner would only be the first step, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“As I understand it, there aren’t just electronic locks up there in the Second. Whoever was breaking and entering would need to be pretty handy with a pick set, as well. Not to mention the fact that some locks have to be undone in certain orders. Basically…you’re talking about a pretty organized plan. If someone really wanted to pull this off, they would need a lot of tools at their disposal.”

“Just one last question, Ollie,” Grant said, ignoring the look his partner gave him. “Do you know anybody who could pull this off? Anybody who might want to?”

“There are always people that want to steal. And there are probably a few people that would want to bring down the people of the Second a couple of notches - class jealousy, I guess you could call it. But even if I could name some of those people, they wouldn’t have the kind of juice or access to pull this off.”

Grant stared at him for a moment longer, trying to find the lie that he thought might be in there somewhere. Ollie had chosen his words carefully, though, and Grant couldn’t find anything to catch him on. Letting out a tired sigh, he pushed himself up out of the chair and reached out to shake the younger man’s hand. 

“Thanks for your help, Ollie. We’ll let you get back to work now.”

“Always happy to help.”

There was definitely a lie in that, but not one worth going after. Grant nodded at him and turned to lead the others back through the shop and out onto the street. He was actually a bit surprised when his partner and the other cops came out only a second behind him, though he was grateful, too.

Sam stalked past him to the van. “He wasn’t telling us everything,” he growled.

“Nobody ever tells the cops everything, Sam,” Grant replied, climbing inside the vehicle. “If they do, I think that might worry me more than anything.”


	9. Chapter 9

Will followed her brother without a word. She didn’t cross over into the Third often; it was always Robin’s job to bring over the money they had taken and make sure that it made it safely. Will’s trips were usually only for sport, or to see if Ollie had a new toy for her to play with. She never went over with Tuck, and the set of his shoulders as he led her through the tunnel made her uneasy. 

She opened her mouth to ask him again what was going on, but ended up only huffing in frustration. She’d asked him at least a dozen times since he’d come to the apartment to get her and he’d done nothing more than give her a tight look and a small shake of his head. Something was obviously up, but it infuriated her that he was keeping her in the dark for so long. Usually, Will would have just picked at him until they were arguing and he ended up telling her what she wanted to know. She couldn’t do that in the tunnels, though. They might have been underground, but no one wanted to risk the wrong people finding out about their route. 

Even knowing all of that, she was practically biting a hole through her tongue by the time they came up into the church. As soon as they were through the door, she opened her mouth again. This time, though, she was stopped by the sight of someone sitting in the front pew, head down as he stared at the floor.

“Ollie?”

He looked up at the sound of her voice, giving her a crooked smile as Will crossed the space between them. Then he was on his feet and wrapping his arms around her, lifting her feet off the ground slightly. The sudden affection startled her, and she had only just barely hugged him back when he set her down and took a step back.

“Damn, it’s good to see you,” he murmured.

“Watch it,” she warned. “My brother doesn’t really appreciate swearing in his church. I think he takes personal offense to it.”

Ollie just shrugged. “It’s true, anyway.”

Will wrinkled her nose at him. “You just saw me a couple of weeks ago. Don’t tell me you’re starting to get sappy on me.”

He looked around the church for a moment. “I wish that was the reason I was here.”

“Which begs the question.” She studied him closely. “I hope you’re planning on explaining why Tuck practically dragged me down here without a word.”

Ollie gestured to the pew and the two of them sat down next to each other. Being this close to him, Will couldn’t help but be reminded of how young he could look. Of course, she wasn’t much older than him, and she wasn’t sure either of them were old enough for the serious look he had on his face at that moment.

“I got a visit today,” he said, his voice low, “from Detectives Gillthane and Norrington.”

Her mouth curled into a disgusted sneer. “Sam,” she practically spat out. “Why can’t that man just disappear?”

“He was asking about the robberies, Will. They know about the cloner.”

She sat straight up, pulling away from him slightly in surprise. “You told them?”

“No,” he said firmly. “I didn’t tell them anything about you. Or the fact that I…Norrington was looking to bust me right there, on anything little thing he could make stick. Gillthane…well, you know how he is. I think he suspected that I was involved, but he kept his questions to hypotheticals. I told them I wasn’t involved, and that I didn’t know who was behind the thefts. But, Will…” He leaned a little closer, hand brushing against hers. “If they’ve made it to me already…I’m worried.”

Will shook her head, letting out a pathetic huff that was supposed to be a laugh. “You’re too good, Ollie. They won’t find anything on you. They won’t take your store or pull you in -“

“I’m worried about you.”

Her eyes darted away. “You know I can take care of myself.”

Ollie reached out and took her hand in his. “I know,” he said.

Something in his voice made her look at him again, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. “We’ll be okay,” she whispered.

He nodded, forcing out a small smile for her. “Of course we will. We always are, right?”

“Right.”

Ollie raised a hand to push back some of her hair and Will immediately went rigid. He almost flinched at her reaction, but then his smile just turned sad and he leaned in, brushing a whisper of a kiss across her lips. 

“Do what you do best, Will,” he murmured. “Take care of yourself.”

She gave him a startled glance, but it was quickly replaced by a firm nod and a determined expression. “I will. You have to do the same, though, okay?”

His thumb brushing across her cheek, Ollie stared at her, seemingly memorizing every inch of her face. “Deal.” After another long moment he sniffled and then sat back slightly, eyes seeking out Tuck. “You should get her back.”

They both stood up as Tuck came over, Will focusing on smoothing down her shirt instead of looking at anybody. Her brother reached out and lightly touched her elbow, forcing her to acknowledge the moment. Giving a tight smile to Ollie, she nodded at him.

“See you soon, geek.”

He didn’t say anything as the two of them headed back towards the tunnel entrance. Will looked over her shoulder just once to see him still standing there, hands in his pockets as he stared at her. Her chest tightened at the look on his face, but then they turned the corner and he was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Vans moving down dark streets in the middle of the night were not a strange occurence in the Third. Despite the fact that the police lived within the Second, they found plenty of excuses to beat down on those beneath them, and raids were a common occurrence. There were a variety of things that were illegal in the new order that had arisen in the wake of the Virus, and governments had always been good at keeping a steel-toed boot firmly on the neck of their people. 

Streets had a way of emptying when the vans rolled through. Doors were locked and lights were turned out, as though hiding in the shadows would be any kind of protection against a focused raid. Ollie had shut down the shop hours ago, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Cops had questioned him in the past. It never really mattered if he was guilty or not - it had always been understood that he wasn’t going to be arrested. He knew the Third, though, and that was one of the reasons Gillthane had come to him on various cases. 

This time had been different. He wasn’t a man prone to fear, but there was something wrong and he could feel it sliding just beneath his bones. 

It was almost midnight when his front door came crashing in. 

It didn’t matter that he had been expecting for things to go horribly awry. He froze as his door was broken down, painfully bright flashlights blinding him and loud, angry voices yelling at him to get down, to surrender. Ollie didn’t even get a chance to throw a punch before three cops were on top of him, tackling him to the floor and restraining his arms and legs. His head bounced off of the kitchen floor, making the room spin and his thoughts tumble away from him. It was over in a matter of seconds, his heart pounding the entire time as he struggled to wrap his brain around what was happening. It wasn’t until the hood came down over his head that he realized this wasn’t just a raid.

He was dragged from his apartment, his captors not even giving him the opportunity to get his feet underneath him. His knees and shins clattered against the stairs as they took him down and then there was a rush of fresh air on his face and he greedily drank it in, afraid that it would be the last free air he got to enjoy. 

His feet left the ground suddenly and Ollie momentarily panicked as he was thrown into what he assumed was one of the vans. His shoulder collided with something hard and unforgiving, the pain lancing through him even as his head struck something else and his vision inside of the hood burst into tiny flashes of light. 

Nothing was said as the engine hummed and the van carried them through the Third. Ollie only tried to sit up once. He was harshly pushed back down onto the floor of the vehicle and decided that it wasn’t worth it. His head was starting to clear a bit, though there was a sharp ache forming somewhere behind his eyes. Sweat poured down until it pooled in the small of his back and his chest labored with the simple act of breathing. Nevertheless, he refused to give his captors the satisfaction of hearing him beg for his life or his freedom. 

Ollie had no way of knowing where they were when the van finally came to a stop. Strong arms picked him up from either side, though, and he was once again dragged through doors and down stairs. His body was beginning to ache from being manhandled, his shins already bruised from slamming into things over and over again. He gritted his teeth with each new hit, barely suppressing the cries of pain threatening to escape him. 

Disoriented and head swimming, he almost yelped in surprise when he found himself thrown down into a hard chair. The metal was cool beneath him, a surprising relief against the heat of his skin. His body shivered slightly at the contact but it helped to ground him, helped him to get a shaky handle on his surroundings. It wasn’t much, but it helped to steady his nerves just a bit.

Then the hood was ripped off of his head and his eyes slammed shut against the light that threatened to blind him. 

“Blink,” a voice said from behind him. “They’ll adjust.”

The voice was familiar, but Ollie had no choice but to focus on getting his eyesight back before he could investigate further. The light still hurt, but with each closing and opening of his lids, it was easier to bear. The room he was in came to him in flashes of light and shadow, and it took him a couple of minutes to put together that he was in a plain room with nothing in it other than the chair he was sitting in. One door, no windows, and a threatening presence behind him. Ollie didn’t like his odds. 

He heard the scuff of a shoe on the floor and then the presence showed itself. Ollie found himself staring up at Sam Norrington, the detective’s expression hard and unyielding.

“I’m sorry that it had to come to this, Oliver,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “You had your chance earlier, though.”

Ollie’s own voice was cracked and dry, but he forced it to work. “I answered your questions,” he said. “All of them. I don’t know what else you want from me.”

Sam came to stand directly in front of him, his height almost overpowering from his prisoner’s position. “I want the truth.”

“You want answers you’re not going to get. There’s a difference.”

The detective shook his head, jaw tightening. “I know you made the cloner. I know that you supplied it to whoever has been pulling these robberies off. I want a name.”

Ollie doubted that the cops had any actual evidence that he had made the jammer. That would have saved him with Gillthane. The more rational detective was nowhere to be seen, though, and Norrington was an entirely different beast. It didn't’ matter if he had proof or not - he knew what he knew, and he would defend that belief with the zealousness of a fanatic. Games of semantics and half-truths weren’t going to get Ollie anywhere with this man. He could either tell him what he wanted to know, or he could refuse. 

“I’ve got nothing to tell you.”

“I think you have many things to tell me. And eventually you’ll let your secrets go. A man can only keep quiet for so long.”

Ollie let out a tired laugh, his mind suddenly clear as he realized just what was happening. “Do what you want, man. I’m not gonna give you shit.”

Sam stared down at him for a moment as though weighing the depth of Ollie’s resolve. “Pity,” he finally murmured.

He turned and headed for the door. When he opened it, three more cops came in and Ollie wondered if these were the same three who had kidnapped him from his home. It didn’t really matter, though. They took up positions around him; two stood in front of him, while the third moved behind the chair, his hands coming to rest firmly on Ollie’s shoulders as though he would need to be held down.

“Who did you give the cloner to?” Sam asked. 

“Go to hell.”

The first punch almost sent him out of his chair. The hands on his shoulders held him there, though, even as he hung his head to the side and spit blood out onto the floor. Ollie had been in his fair share of fights growing up, but he had never been held down and beaten before. It wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience.

“Give me a name.”

“No.”

Another hit came from his left. There was a cracking sound and a stab of pain that seemed to run up from his jaw right into his brain. 

“A name.”

“No.”

He was actually surprised that his jaw still worked - a fracture then, instead of a break. He vaguely wondered if his captors realized that breaking too much of his face would make it impossible for him to give them the answers they were looking for. That was assuming that they even cared, though.

He waited for Norrington to ask again, but there was only a slight nod from the detective before a rain of blows descended on his stomach. Pain flared from every side, his legs lifting in a feeble attempt to protect his vital organs from the barrage. A heavy boot crashed into his kneecap, though, forcing his legs to fall again. The punches resumed, the only thing holding Ollie in place the person holding him from behind. 

When it was finally over, he was allowed just enough room to lean forward as he tried to catch his breath. It was an agonizing job that didn’t seem to get any easier as the seconds ticked by. Eventually, a surprisingly gentle hand took a hold of his chin, lifting until he found himself mere inches from Sam’s face. 

“Just tell us, Ollie,” he whispered. “I promise that I’ll make it quick from there. No cause is worth this agony.”

Ollie pulled his face from Sam’s grasp, their eyes meeting steadily. “Anything that keeps you from getting what you want is worth it,” he said. 

His fate already decided, he closed his eyes, his mind drawing up his last memory of Will. He never saw the next punch coming, or the dozens that came after that. Even when he was no longer able to keep his cries of pain silent, he refused to open his eyes. 

Sam Norrington would not be the last thing he saw.


	11. Chapter 11

Robin knew that there was something wrong as soon as she saw her brother’s face. Tuck had let himself into their apartment, just like he always did, but there was no welcoming smile this time. Instead, he leaned against the doorframe leading into the kitchen, his shoulders slumped and his face haggard. 

“What is it?” Robin asked, hands freezing over the salad she had been preparing for dinner.

“Is Will here?”

“She’s upstairs…”

“Get her. Please.”

Robin bit back the obvious questions, her stomach tightening at the strained tone of her brother’s voice. Tuck was always quick with a smile. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen his face so devoid of one. 

Stepping over to the intercom system, she pressed the button even as her eyes stayed locked on Tuck. “Will?”

It took a moment for her little sister’s voice to come back to her. “Yes.”

“I need you to come down here.”

“I thought you said dinner was going to be another half hour.”

“Now, Will. Please.”

It was only another few moments before they could hear her on the stairs and then her boots were clacking against the linoleum of the kitchen floor. She stopped as soon as she rounded the corner and saw them standing there, eyes moving from one sibling to the next.

“What is it?”

“You should sit down,” Tuck said quietly. “Both of you.”

“Tell us,” Will said.

“Willow, please -“

“Just say it,” Robin urged. “Whatever it is, Tuck, just…just tell us.”

He looked down at the floor for a long moment, seemingly trying to find the right words. Robin felt her stomach knot more tightly and she shared a worried glance with Will. Their brother looked so much older all of a sudden and Robin’s mind raced with terrible thoughts about their mother or John -

“Ollie is dead.”

The knot turned into a ball of lead that dropped into the very pit of Robin’s stomach. Her hands automatically reached out for the edge of the counter as she tried to steady herself and she squeezed it hard, trying to use the sensation to anchor herself.

“No,” Will denied, her voice hushed and broken. “No, I just saw him yesterday. We just…He was…”

Tuck looked at Will with such sadness in his eyes that Robin felt her own tears sliding down her face. “They found him this morning, Will. I’m so sorry.”

Robin watched as she backed up slowly. When her back finally hit the wall behind her, Will sank down to the floor, pulling her knees up against her chest. Her long brown hair hid her face, but it was plain that she was shaking even as she stared into space. 

“I wish that was the worst of what I had to tell you.”

Robin’s head whipped back around to him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s…” He risked a glance over at Will. “It’s how he died. I don’t…maybe you shouldn’t hear this, Will -“

“Tell me,” Will said without looking up. Her voice was hard and low. 

Tuck looked back again at Robin, as though he couldn’t bear to look at his baby sister while he explained. “He was in his apartment, the door broken down and everything smashed. They…he was beaten to death. There was…he had multiple broken bones and there was…there was blood all over him. He barely even looked like himself…”

His voice gave out and Robin stepped closer to him, reaching for his hand. “You saw him?”

Tuck nodded. “JJ came and told me. I had to…I guess I had to see it for myself.”

Robin stood up on her toes so that she could wrap her arms around him. Tuck held her close, squeezing tightly as they both took comfort in the contact. When he pulled away again she went back to holding his hand.

“Do they have any idea who might have done it?”

Tuck frowned at her. “I think I know exactly who did it.” He turned his attention to Will, still sitting on the floor. “You didn’t tell her?”

“Tell me what?”

He sighed in frustration as he looked at her again. “Sam and Grant showed up in the Third yesterday. They questioned Ollie at length about a cloning device.”

The gravity of that hit Robin somewhere in the center of her chest and she turned to stare at her sister in disbelief.

“How could you keep that from me?” she asked.

“Ollie would never give us up,” Will said, her tear-filled eyes finally lifting to meet theirs. 

“You can’t know that,” Tuck argued. “You didn’t see his body, Will. Not many men could have withstood a beating like that without letting their secrets out.”

“He didn’t tell them anything.”

“Will -“

Robin shook her head. “I think she’s right, Tuck. If they had discovered who he gave the cloner to, they wouldn’t have left his body like that for just anybody to find. I know Sam. If he knew it was us, he would have made sure that we were the ones to discover Ollie. He would want to make us suffer like that.” She looked back over at her sister. “He kept our secret.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he let it go. “Regardless, we need to cancel the next job. You can’t risk -“

“No.”

They both looked up, startled at the barely controlled rage in Will’s voice. She was pushing herself up from the floor, her face hard and her fists clenched at her sides.

“We’re not walking away from this.”

“Will,” Tuck said as gently as he could, “it’s too dangerous.”

“I will NOT let that son of a bitch control me,” she spat out. “He didn’t have to kill Ollie. He did it because he’s a sadistic bastard who can’t stand anyone disobeying him. Ollie refused to tell him what he wanted to know, and Sam killed him for it. He didn’t arrest him. He didn’t charge him. He probably didn’t even lay a finger on him. He had his flunkies kill him and then had them dump the body like he was nothing. I won’t let someone like that dictate my life, and I’m sure as hell not going to let him come to any more power than he already has.” Her eyes slid over to Robin’s. “You know we have to stop him.”

Momentarily at a loss for words, Robin shifted her weight nervously. “I agree, Will. You know that I do. But we’re not staging a political revolution here. We’re just giving back to the people who need it the most -“

“Oh, grow up!” Will yelled. “Where do you think all that money is going, Robbie? You think it’s just feeding poor starving kids and paying for medical supplies? They’re building a damned army in the Third! They’re going to storm the Second and tear down the First brick by brick until we’re all on the same level! They’re going to scream and fight and kill until the people in power admit that they’re only in power because they steal it from everybody else! They want justice for the people that have been killed. They want the freedom to live their own lives. They want the ability to go out into the world and see what’s left of it - to see if they can make it any better out there than it is in here. THAT’S what we’ve been stealing all that money for, and you’re a damned fool if you believe any different!”

The kitchen fell into a stunned silence following the outburst. Robin wanted to fight against her sister’s words, even as she felt the truth of them deep inside her bones. Of course the Third was preparing for a coup. They were beaten and trodden, and Will and Robin had been providing them with more money than was needed for food and supplies. They really were funding a revolution. She looked over at her brother, and Tuck gave her a small shrug.

“I thought you knew.”

“I think I did,” she replied. She took a deep breath. “On some level. I had to know.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Tuck insisted. “This isn’t worth your lives -“

“Was it worth Ollie’s?” Will asked, her voice sharp. 

“That’s not -“

Robin held up a hand. “Don’t say that it’s different, Tuck. It’s not. He died protecting us. He was someone’s son, and he was our friend, and now he’s gone because of this…this thing. If we let our plans die with him, we do him a grave disservice.” Her mouth quirked up into a sad smirk. “And you know what Mom says about doing a disservice.”

“You think Mom would really want the two of you going out after this?”

“I think that woman knows more about sacrifice and loss than we ever will.” She looked over at Will and nodded. “We’re doing this. There’s no turning back now. Maybe there never was.”

She knew that he wanted to say more, that he wanted to argue it with the both of them. But they had all grown up together, and he knew when it was useless to fight with them. 

“God help us all,” he muttered.

“I’ll do this with or without him,” Will said. “It makes no difference to me.”

She turned and stalked back up the stairs, dinner forgotten. They both watched her go and then Robin walked back over to her salad, returning to the work in an effort to keep her hands from shaking. 

“How much more do they need? In the Third?”

“This last job should do it,” Tuck replied, moving to stand on the other side of the kitchen island.

“Good. One last job for Ollie. It’s kind of poetic.” Robin stopped, swallowing against the sudden swell of emotion. “I really wish he could be here to see it all play out. He deserved to.”

“Hopefully the rest of us will make it that far.”

She sniffled. “Well, we just have to believe that we will. Anything else is just…well…it’s a waste of time, really.” She took a deep breath. “Stay for dinner?”

Tuck reached over and took a hold of both of her hands with his own. She stared at their fingers for a long moment until she couldn’t take it anymore and lifted her eyes to his.

“Of course.”

She forced a smile to her face, instead of giving in to the cries of despair echoing in her head. “Good.”


	12. Chapter 12

Grant stalked into the precinct, still unsure of what he was going to say to his partner. The folder he held in one hand had pictures in it that he wished he’d never seen. He could handle the blood and the gore, but it was the implications that were making him sick. A part of him hoped that his partner had a damn good explanation for what had happened. Another part, though…Grant tried to ignore the images of him throwing a nasty right hook right at Sam’s face, along with the satisfied feelings that went along with them. 

The man in question was sitting at his desk, just like he was most mornings. Instead of giving Sam his customary greeting, Grant slammed the folder down on his desk, right on top of whatever Sam had been reading.

“Explain,” he growled.

Sam’s calm never wavered. He looked up at the other man with slightly raised eyebrows before taking a sip of his coffee. “Good morning to you, too, Grant. Everything okay?”

He had to clench one fist until his fingernails were digging into his palm to keep from grabbing the coffee cup and chucking it across the room. Using his free hand, he pointed at the folder.

“Explain,” he repeated.

Sam stared at him for a moment longer before turning his attention to the folder. Slowly, he opened it up and went through the pictures. There was nothing in his expression to tell how he felt about what he saw. Grant knew, though. He knew that this wasn’t the first time Sam was seeing the scene. 

“I’m not sure what you’re asking me for,” his partner said finally.

Grant leaned forward until his hands were resting on Sam’s desk. “We questioned Ollie yesterday. Now he’s dead.”

The other man gave a little shrug. “Maybe whoever he sold the cloner to thought he had given him up. There are some real barbarians in the Third, Gillthane. You should know - you’ve arrested a good number of them.”

Grant lowered his voice. “Don’t you lie to me, Sam,” he growled. “Witnesses saw black vans last night. Our vans. Except that no raids were logged.”

“Did these witnesses actually see anybody hurt this guy?”

“You know they didn’t.”

Sam closed the folder and tossed it to the side. “Then I suggest we forget this mindless killing in the Third and focus on the important cases, then. Like the robberies.”

Grant stood up straight again, taking a step away from his partner. He was genuinely afraid that he was just going to punch Sam in the face. A mistake like that could cost him more than his job. Crossing his arms over his chest, he took a deep breath.

“Does that mean we’ve found a new lead?”

Sam shook his head. “No. But we’ll have more than a lead soon enough.”

Grant’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’ve set a trap for our thief. We may not know who he is now, but we will soon after he makes his next move. I can guarantee you that much.”

“Wait a minute. How can you set a trap for a thief you know almost nothing about? We don’t even have any clues as to where the next target might be!”

“So we get creative.” He gave a little shrug. “Or ambitious.”

Sam leaned back in his chair and smirked. Grant felt as though someone had stuck their hand instead of his stomach and squeezed, but he refused to let his discomfort show. “What did you do?” he asked quietly.

“I told you. I set a trap.” He paused. “At every single high-yield target within the Second.”

The thought alone was staggering. 

“What kind of trap?”

Somehow Sam’s smirk only grew.


	13. Chapter 13

Some things had survived the end of the world. Robin and her siblings had grown up in a house full of books, most set in a world that none of them had ever known. People hopping on trains and planes and boats to visit other countries seemed just as foreign as talking animals . Despite the disconnect though, Robin had always enjoyed the stories.

There had been more than one about people pulling off elaborate heists. They were complicated affairs; there were fancy electronics, ropes, and pulleys. There were usually blueprints and some kind of crazy ruse to hide the thief in plain sight. Robin didn’t really have any of those things, though. She had her sister, her knives, and her lock pick set. They also had the cloner that had cost Ollie his life and a cause that Robin could no longer ignore. She fervently prayed that that would be enough.

As she and Will moved down the crowded street, Robin’s eyes instinctually rose to their target. The Regent Headquarters were housed in a large grey building that stood like a monolith against the sun behind it. She felt exposed in the daylight, but everyone had agreed that sneaking around the building at night would drawn the most attention. Their mother was a Regent and their brother John was being groomed to take her place eventually. That gave the girls a valid reason to be in the building during normal hours.

Just as they were counting on, the building was busy. Aside from the thirteen Regents that worked there, there were offices for those people that made up their staffs. Robin wasn’t entirely sure why there were so many of them, or how they could possibly have real jobs, but they were there. Then there were the people who had a pathological need to be around power. They were the ones making requests, trying to make deals, and just generally trying to be noticed by someone that might be able to do them a favor at some point. There were scores of those people. And all of that wasn’t even counting the building personnel - the cleaners, the kitchen staff, and the security guards. 

Neither Robin nor Will worried much about the latter. The sisters were a frequent sight and the guards even gave them a friendly wave as they stepped up to the desk. They should have been searched, but families of Regents weren’t normally bothered with that. Robin didn’t like to think about how the guards would react to what they found in her case.

She watched her sister closely as they paused at the front desk. Everyone who really knew her knew that Will was good. Robin suspected that none of them realized just good how she actually was. The smile she gave to the guard was just the right mix of polite and seductive, giving the poor man the false hope that Will would even remember him once she had gotten what she wanted. She even managed to brush a lingering finger across his arm as she handed the pen back. It was all an act that Robin had seen before, but this time it was different. The guard hadn’t seen Will sink to the floor when she found out that Ollie had been murdered. He hadn’t seen the broken remnants of three glasses lying scattered across the kitchen floor. He hadn’t seen the way she had sharpened her knives the night before.

The guard didn’t know about any of that, though, and then they were past him and heading for the stairs. Though the city was fully functioning, electricity was still at a premium. The elevators drained a lot of power, and a Mayor that came before the current one had decreed that they would only be run for those who were truly in need. Regents had objected over the years, of course; people with an inflated view of their importance usually took issue with having to do anything that counted as work. Robin’s mother had once told her that the Mayor offered those Regents the use of the elevators - if they were willing to give up power in their private apartments for an entire day in exchange for one ride. Whether that was true or not, it seemed none of them had ever pressed the issue. 

Rachel Hueller’s office was on the third floor. To deal with the issue of stairs, the Regents had agreed that certain age groups among them would earn offices on certain floors. Seeing as how Rachel was in her sixties, she had been granted the privilege of only having three flights to face every morning. The two sisters moved up the stairs, nodding to the people who greeted them, smiling at those who looked familiar but they couldn’t put a name to. 

Sunlight streamed in from the large windows on each landing, affording the occupants of the building grand views of the city around them, all the way to the end of the third. That wall, the one that truly kept them separated from the world, was the highest wall in the city. There was only one window that could see over the edge of that to what lay beyond, and only one man who had the privilege of looking through it. Robin stared at the wall, her mind showing her the scene she had seen just beyond it when she was a young girl. She remembered that it had been big, the space outside of the wall. There had been trees and a green grass everywhere. The Mayor had pointed out to her the deer running through the foliage and the hawks flying through the sky. It was so different from the world that she knew, and she had barely been able to believe her eyes. Could a world that beautiful really be as scary and dangerous as they had always been told? But the end of the world had come from out there, and it was the Walls that had kept them safe, let them grow into a community that didn’t have to live their lives in fear. It wasn’t just that Robin wondered if that fear was still justified…she wondered if the thing that felt like it was missing from her life was that fear. 

“Robbie?”

She looked up, startled. Will had started up the last flight of stairs, but had stopped when she saw that her sister was no longer with her. Robin hadn’t even realized that she had stopped on the landing to stare out the window.

Will came back down to the landing, concern on her face. “You okay?”

Robin nodded, turning her back on the window. “Yeah. Sorry. Just…thinking.”

Will reached out and squeezed her elbow. “Getting harder and harder to ignore those thoughts, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yeah. I guess they’ll go away after this though, won’t they?”

Will paused. “I’m not sure they’ll ever go away,” she whispered. “I don’t think they’re supposed to. If they do…maybe that’s when you realize everything’s gotten too comfortable again and you need to start taking a good hard look at things again.”

She tightened her grip for just another second and then turned to continue up the stairs, Robin following close behind her. 

Their mother’s office was an enormous suite at the end of the hall. Her staff didn’t rush around as much as the other employees they had passed, and their smiles were genuine as they greeted the sisters. If there was anywhere she could actually feel comfortable within Headquarters, it was definitely in her mother’s office. Only the important things mattered there - a relief from the way the rest of the Second seemed to operate.

“Ah, there you are,” Rachel greeted, standing up from her seat behind the desk. She came around and hugged them both tightly, lingering a bit with Will. She whispered something in her youngest’s ear, but Robin couldn’t catch it and she knew that she wasn’t meant to. After a moment, their mother stepped back again and looked at them both. “I’m glad you could make it on such short notice. An old woman finds the company of her children to be most comforting as the years go by.”

Will rolled her eyes a little, but Robin couldn’t help but smile at the effortless way her mother put on such an act. There were no cameras in the office, but Rachel had been adamant that her own staff remain completely unaware. She cared about her people and needed to make sure that they couldn’t be held responsible for something that was out of their hands anyway.

“Ma’am?”

They all turned to Cecilia, their mother’s personal secretary. “Yes, dear?” Rachel asked.

“John just got here as well.”

“Then send him in, child. And please have the others leave me alone for the lunch hour, if you would. I’d like some quiet time with my children.”

Cecilia smiled and nodded. “Of course. Will Father Tuck be joining you as well?”

“Sadly, no,” John said as he stepped up behind Cecilia, making the girl blush. “Our dear brother is busy tending to his flock at the moment. God’s work can’t be interrupted - even for your mother.”

Robin bit back a laugh at his tone, but Rachel t-sked. “Your brother does good work, John. Don’t you tease him for it.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll stop.” He came forward and kissed her on the cheek. “When I’m around you, at least.”

She gave him a playful smack on the arm and then Cecilia was closing the door, cutting them off from the rest of the office suite. Rachel let out a little sigh as the door clicked and then walked over to her desk to sit on the edge of it. 

“Is everything all set?” she asked.

John nodded. “I’ve got the way to the vault clear for you and Tuck is ready to take it all off your hands once you get it through the tunnels.”

Will sat down on the couch over by the window. “Tell me again why there are tunnels underneath this place?”

“Because people in power like to do things they’re not supposed to,” Rachel replied. “Everyone Regent’s office has a secret way in and out so that they’re staff and any prying eyes don’t know where they go after hours. Or during hours, depending on the Regent. The tunnels go all through the Second, some of them even into the Third. I heard a rumor once that there’s one that travels into the First, if you can believe that. Anyway, they’ll get you away from here, and that’s what really matters. The system is vast and unmapped, so even if someone is following you, you should be able to lose them fairly easily.” She paused. “I’m praying that that doesn’t happen, though. Last job, ladies. Let’s make it as clean as the others and be done with it.”

“Finishing this job is really only the beginning,” Will said quietly, forcing everyone to turn and look at her. “You realize that, don’t you?”

Rachel nodded. “I do, actually. Don’t get me wrong, Willow. My life right now is privileged and comfortable. There are many parts of it I quite enjoy. But I also know that what is coming if the status quo is left unbothered will not be comfortable. Sam Norrington gains more power among the Regents every day. He might even have a majority vote right now that could win him the seat of Mayor. I believe one of the only things standing in his way is the fact that our current Mayor is still alive. I don’t think that man holds anything sacred, however, and I fear for my friend’s life.”

“His life isn’t the only thing standing in his way,” Robin argued. “We’re there, too. We won’t let him have the city. It’s not his and it never will be.”

Rachel smiled fondly at her. “My dear child. To think how badly that man wants to marry you, and here you are fighting against everything he stands for without him even realizing it. If he only knew…”

“He’d have her executed in a heartbeat,” John said, “and use her to get you removed as a Regent.”

“Or worse,” Will added, “he’d use the information to blackmail Robbie into marrying him.”

Robin held up both hands. “Neither scenario sounds good to me. So let’s just steal some money and get out of here, okay?”

Rachel nodded. “Indeed. It’s time the two of you got going.” 

She pushed away from her desk and walked over the bookshelves that lined one wall. Robin thought back to all of those books she had read about spies and thieves; a hidden doorway behind a wall of books seemed pretty cliched. When her mother pulled a certain book out, though, there was no movement on the shelves. Instead, a small hatch slid open half under the end of the couch that Will was sitting on. The youngest Hueller jumped up in surprise, staring at the black opening.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you, Mom?”

Rachel gave a half-shrug. “An old woman has to have her secrets, you know. Now go. You have a little less than an hour. You have to come back through this way. Otherwise the staff will know.”

“Not to mention the sign-out logs if you don’t leave by the front door,” John reminded. 

“Right. We’re gone.” Robin kissed first her mother and then John. “We’ll be back soon.”

“I fully expect you to be,” Rachel said.

Robin gave her a small smile and turned away. Will was already lowering herself down the ladder in the hole and Robin followed her without any hesitation. 

They moved quickly through the tunnels. They had spent hours with John as he explained the system to them, drawing them rough sketches that they then memorized. He hadn’t stopped there. As the two of them neared the first turn, Robin noticed a small white mark on the stone of the tunnel they were supposed to take. It could have been just a scuff mark, but when it showed up again at the second intersection, she knew that John had done everything he could to make sure that they didn’t get lost.

“Let’s just hope nobody else picks up on the pattern,” Will murmured, also noticing the marks.

It took them thirteen minutes to jog through the tunnels, maneuvering down dark staircases with only small flashlights to guide their way. Their sneakers didn’t make much noise as they moved, but Robin still found herself worrying that someone would hear and come investigate. John said he had cleared the way for them, but how could he ensure that another one of the Regents wouldn’t decide to use this backdoor for reasons of their own? A chance encounter would leave them with an uncomfortable situation to try and explain away. Not to mention dragging their mother into it, since they could have only gotten down there through her secret passage. 

“I can hear you worrying from here,” Will said. “Knock it off.”

“You’re not even a little afraid?”

“It wouldn’t do us any good. Besides, we’re here.”

Robin looked up to see that they’d reached a single metal door in the hall. It was completely unadorned, and though it seemed strange that a door would be there, there was nothing to really call attention to it. 

“Is the cloner running?”

Will nodded. “Anything nearby running a signal doesn’t even realize we’re here.”

“Good.”

Robin knelt down and pulled out her lock pick set and got to work immediately. The door had a metal handle and a simple keyhole, which she found a little surprising. She realized that having all the bells and whistles of a first grade security system would attract more attention, but she wasn’t sure that the tunnel system was enough of a deterrant. According to her mother, the amount of money in the room was staggering…wouldn’t the Regents take better care to protect it?

She heard the click of the lock releasing just as something sharp jabbed her index finger. Robin drew it back quickly, immediately sticking the finger in her mouth in an attempt to soothe it.

“Son of a bitch,” she muttered.

“You okay?”

“Yeah…something cut me.” She drew the finger out of her mouth and looked at it. There was a small drop of blood pushing up out of her skin, but it didn’t seem to be serious. “We can get me a bandaid later. We’re on a timetable here.”

Robin stood up and opened the door, slipping inside with her sister right behind her. They didn’t dare look for a light switch, afraid that someone might walk by and see it under the door. Instead, they used their flashlights to survey their surroundings.

There was money everywhere. Paper, gold, silver…Robin’s mouth dropped open at the sight of it all. With this much money, the Regents could do anything. So why were they starving their people and keeping it all locked away?

“Hey.”

She turned just in time to catch the black dufflebag that Will had thrown to her. Her sister was right. She could mull over the implications later. Right now they needed to finish the job and get the hell out. 

There was no way that they could take it all. Each of them had two bags, and they had decided at the beginning that that was all the weight they could handle if they had to move quickly. They bypassed the gold entirely. Despite it’s worth, it was the hardest currency to move on the black market and using it was more than likely to get people arrested and executed. Each bar was also stamped and numbered. If the police caught someone using it, they would instantly be able to identify the gold as having come from the Regents. So instead they went for the paper and the silver. They moved quickly, not speaking to each other. They simply filled their bags until they couldn’t hold anymore. Once they had reached that point, despite the amount of money left in the vault - an obscene amount - they had no choice but to leave.

“Ready?” Will asked, already by the door and tapping one foot.

“Definitely. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

They stepped out, letting the door shut behind them and hearing the lock re-engage. Twenty-three minutes had gone by since they first entered the tunnels, and at fast clip it would take them another fifteen to reach Tuck. Neither wasted any effort on words, instead pressing further into the tunnels, following John’s earlier directions. 

The bags were heavy, but not overly so. Robin found them more cumbersome than anything else. She was a mirror of her sister, one bag slung over her right shoulder and the other swinging in her left hand. Any of the silver that they had picked up had been carefully buffered by paper money so that there was no clinking to give them away.

Even so, Robin realized nine minutes into their journey that they were not alone in the tunnels.

It started as a small sound somewhere off in the distance. It could have been the scuff of a shoe, or maybe nothing more than Robin’s imagination playing games with her. When it happened a second and third time, though, she knew she couldn’t ignore it.

“Company,” she whispered.

“Take the lead.”

They switched places, Will dropping back so that she could cover their rear. They might have been able to talk their way out if they had been caught on their way to the vault, but now that they had bags with them, talking was out of the question. Any guard they ran into would demand to see what was inside and then it would be over. They couldn’t be caught.

They paused at the next intersection, and Will moved close enough to her so that she barely had to make a sound to be heard.

“There are at least two of them. I think they’re in different tunnels than we are, but that doesn’t mean we won’t suddenly run into them.”

“Plan?” Robin asked.

“Move as quickly and quietly as we can. We don’t have time to look around every corner before we go around it. We have no way of knowing if they’re down here for us or not. We’ve got a deadline and we can’t miss it.”

Robin could have argued for more caution, but she wasn’t even sure that was the right way to go. Will was right. They needed to keep moving. If they ran into anybody…they would just have to deal with it when it happened.

They started moving again, faster this time, even as they focused on keeping their feet lighter. The bags seemed heavier to her now, but Robin wasn’t sure if that was the fear or just gravity talking. She forced her mind away from the weight and the potential problems of guards and instead made sure that she was taking the right turns and keeping a steady pace. 

They were only another couple of minutes from Tuck when everything went to hell. Robin was just through another intersection of tunnels when she heard a sound behind her. Spinning, she saw a guard running from the perpendicular corridor, his hand on his gun as he sped up.

“Hey!” he called. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He was on a path that would bring him colliding with Will, but she had already seen him coming. As they both came into the intersection, Will swung both bags and slid them across the floor so that they came to a stop at Robin’s feet. Then, with movements that were beautifully fluid, she spun and grabbed the guard’s arm. He already had his gun out, but she turned his aim just in time, and the bullet ricocheted off of a wall instead of hitting her. Will continued spinning until the guard was completely turned around and then landed a kick to his chest, sending him stumbling backwards. He recovered quickly, reaching for another weapon. Robin saw that it was his dart gun. She knew the poison that was housed in those needles and she knew that there was no coming back from that without the antidote that one could only get in the police-controlled hospital. She opened her mouth to shout a warning, but her sister was already reacting. Will reached into her belt and pulled out her knife, a deadly blade that was curved. She surged forward, ducking under the arm of the guard and then coming up behind him, her knife poised at his neck. There was a moment, a brief hesitation, where Robin thought that maybe she wouldn’t or couldn’t do it. But then her sister’s eyes hardened and she sliced his throat, leaving him to drop to the ground. He tried to cry out, but only a gurgle came out even as his hands flew to his neck in a vain attempt to keep the blood in. 

Robin stared at him, transfixed, until she heard another sound. A different guard was suddenly running at them from the other direction, his gun pointed at her sister’s back.

“Will!”

Robin dropped her bags and dipped her hands into the cargo pockets on each leg. She came out with two small blades that were sailing through the air before she’d even had time to think about it. They caught the second guard on either side of his throat and he went down hard, never getting a shot off. 

Everything seemed to slow down as she stared at the man she had just killed. She was only vaguely aware of Will running over to him and retrieving her blades, both a bloody mess. Will didn’t hesitate to throw them both in one of her pockets and then she was standing in front of Robin, grabbing her by the shoulders.

“Timetable, Robbie. We have to go.”

She moved on instinct, her mind still trying to comprehend what had just happened. She and Will had pulled off multiple jobs, but no one had ever gotten more than a bad headache from being knocked out or drugged. Now there were two men dead in a pool of their own blood and everything was suddenly just too real for her. She took the bags that Will thrust into her hands, though, and followed her on legs that didn’t even feel like her own as they headed toward the rendezvous point. She wasn’t aware of her surroundings again until Tuck was there, taking the bags from her to pass to JJ and then taking Robin’s face in his hands.

“Robin,” he murmured. “Hey, sweetie, I need you to look at me.”

She did, and she felt a sudden wave of grief wash over her. Tears filled her eyes and her hands started to shake.

“Tuck, we -“

“I know. Will told me.” Robin had never even heard her sister speak. “You had no choice,” he continued. “Robin. Robin, look at me.” Her eyes had drifted, but she brought them back to his face once again. “The two of you need to go. You’ve got ten minutes to get back to Mom’s office and you’re going to have to run.”

“Tuck -“

“Whatever it is, don’t worry about it now. We’ll all talk later, okay? You need to go.”

Will grabbed her hand and started tugging at her. “He’s right, Robbie.” She must have drifted again, because the next thing she knew, her sister had slapped her across the face. “We do not have time for a breakdown,” Will said, her voice hard. “Cry later. Run now.”

They ran.


	14. Chapter 14

They were running down the stairs, and Grant was only vaguely aware of why. Sam had been about to explain the trap he had set for their thief - or at least, Grant had thought he was about to explain. Sam was a tricky man, and he had clearly been enjoying keeping his partner in the dark. Either way, their conversation had been cut short when a rookie cop came bursting into the room, out of breath and with eyes alight. 

“He tripped it.”

That was all the rookie had said before Sam was out of his chair, grabbing his jacket, and running out the door. Grant didn’t have any time to process. He followed, because that was what partners did, and because he was determined to find out what the hell was going on. 

He was surprised when they got outside and the rookie didn’t head for one of the cars. Instead, he turned and led them down the street, still running at a full clip. People on the sidewalk were stopping and staring at them, but Sam was already waving his badge and yelling for them to stand clear. Most were smart enough to listen, though those that weren’t learned soon enough when they were shoved roughly to the side. 

Grant did a double-take when he realized that they were running straight for the front door of the Regent Headquarters. He was assuming that the thief had set off one of Sam’s traps, but what would he have stolen there? There were banks and stores that would have been strong targets, and those probably would have been a hell of a lot easier to get in and out of. 

Sam only shoved his badge in the faces of the guards at the front desk and then they were heading for the stairs. The crowd let out gasps as the cops burst through their ordinary day, and Grant thought for a fleeting moment that he caught sight of Robin there, but then there were stairs leading down into darkness, and he didn’t have time to think about her. 

Grant had always figured that there had to be a basement to Regent Headquarters, but he had never personally seen it. Instead of it being just one large room, it was made up of a small open space that had multiple tunnels leading off of it. Sam and the other cop already had their flashlights out as they continued to run down one of the corridors. Grant followed, not bothering to pull out his own light. He was growing more annoyed that he didn’t know what was going on, but he also knew that Sam wasn’t going to answer any questions until they arrived at their destination anyway. 

It wasn’t long before they did. It looked like nothing more than a simple metal door set into the wall, but Sam was staring at it with a fire in his eyes. He reached out, gently running his fingers along the handle.

“You’re sure that it was tripped.”

“Yes, sir. Though I think there might have been a slight delay in that information getting back to us.”

Sam nodded. “The cloner. They’re still using that, then.”

“I would assume so.” The younger man hesitated. “I called down another group. They’re ready to search the tunnels on your command, sir.”

Sam was still staring at the door handle, but a small smile played at the edge of his lips. “Good. You can have them start, Richardson. Tell them to search everything.”

“Yes, sir.”

Richardson disappeared into the darkness, leaving Grant alone with his partner. His confusion had blossomed into full irritation by then and the fact that Sam wasn’t moving still was only adding to it.

“What the hell is going on, Sam?” Grant demanded. “You’ve had your secret and your fun. It’s time to share with the class.”

Instead of answering, Sam pulled a keyring out of his pocket and unlocked the door. It seemed to Grant that he did it cautiously, but then the door was opening and they were stepping inside. Sam flipped a switch on one of the walls and light flooded the room. Grant found himself standing in a room lined with more money than he had ever seen outside of a bank vault.

“What the hell…?”

“I told you that we set traps at every high-yield target within the Second. This was one of them, and our thief tripped it.”

“What kind of trap? And why does it seem as though it didn’t actually catch our thief?”

“Oh, it wasn’t meant to catch him, Grant. It was meant to tag him. To mark him. Then we can track him down in our own way and in our own time.”

“What kind of trap?” Grant asked again, emphasizing each word. 

“We knew that our thief had to conquer both the electronic and manual locks. With the cloner in their possession, there wasn’t much we could do about the electronic locks. So I had all of the manual logs rigged with a needle. Once our thief went to pick the lock, the trap would engage and the needle would pierce their skin, infecting them. Of course, we gave orders to anyone with one of these targets to not go into their safes for a little while…we wouldn’t want any false alarms distracting us.”

There were a lot of things wrong with that explanation, but Grant could only focus on one at at time.

“Infect them with what?”

Sam shrugged as though it should be obvious. “The Virus. The same one we use for the executions, though it’s watered down quite a bit. We don’t want him turning into a ravenous beast that infects a whole slew of other people before we get to him. No…this will make him sick enough that it will tip off the people around him. Either he’ll come to one of the hospitals begging for the antidote, or someone else will turn him in out of fear. Either way…we’ve got him.”

Grant knew that he should say something, but words had eluded him. He wondered if the man in front of him was completely insane, or just dangerously cold and calculating. He wasn’t entirely sure which one would be more terrifying. Before he could think of a response, though, there was shouting from somewhere in the tunnels and they were both running towards the noise. It seemed to take forever to reach the cop who had been yelling, but then they were coming to an abrupt stop at an intersection of tunnels and Grant found himself staring in disbelief.

There were two bodies lying on the floor, each with a pool of blood beneath them. Grant stepped around his partner to get a better look at the body that was a short distance away from the intersection. It looked as though he had been running toward the other guard, instead of away. Squatting down by the body, Grant saw that there were two puncture wounds on either side of his neck. Whatever had been used had severed the jugular on either side, and it was obvious that the man had expired quickly. Grant looked down at his hands and saw that there were no defensive wounds, which complicated things. No one would let someone close enough to do that kind of damage unless they never saw them as a threat. Did the guard know the thief? Or had the assault happened from a distance? And if that was the case…their thief was extremely skilled in arts other than stealing.

He turned to see Sam standing up from his examination of the other body, the light in his eyes burning with a different kind of fire.

“Throat slit.”

“Severed jugular over here. Both sides.”

Sam grimaced. “Our thief just escalated to murder. I hope he finds the Virus to his liking.”


	15. Chapter 15

Robin stared at her reflection. It seemed to sway, to shift, to blur until it became something completely unrecognizable to her. She felt like she was burning up inside, but every time she pressed her fingers to her face, the skin was painfully cold. Her breathing felt heavy, as though a huge weight was trying to crush her chest. She avoided looking at her hands - they had done nothing but shake the last six times she looked, and she didn’t need to see that again. Instead, she focused on her reflection and struggled to comprehend what was going on. 

“What is happening to me?” she whispered, her voice sounding like it belonged to someone else, someone she had never met before.

When her reflection blinked in response, Robin screamed and threw herself backward into the wall. There were hurried footsteps before the door came crashing in and then John was there, arms wrapped around her as he tried to steady her.

“What happened?”

She raised a shaking hand to point at the mirror, but it was only showing what it was supposed to. Her arm slowly fell back to her side.

“I saw…I thought I saw…” She shook her head. “Nothing. It was nothing.” She stopped and frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“Taking my turn looking after you. Come on. Let’s get you back to bed.”

Robin let him lead her out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, though she found that she couldn’t do much to help him. John didn’t seem to have too much trouble getting her into bed. She fought back when he tried to cover her up, though, and he sighed.

“You’re like a brick of ice!” he argued.

“Hot,” she murmured, kicking the blankets away. “Too hot.”

Things became hazy as sleep moved in to conquer her, but she thought she felt a press of warm lips against her forehead.

The rest of the day - day or night? - Came to her in small bits and pieces that she couldn’t identify as either real or dreamed. For awhile her mother was sitting by her side, brushing her hair back and singing softly to her. She saw Grant sitting across the room at one point, leaning his arms on his thighs as he stared intently at her. There seemed to be a sadness and an accusation in his expression, but when Robin asked him what was wrong, she got no response. She heard tears and rage in Will’s voice, but she couldn’t find her sister. She yelled in surprise when she looked up to see Sam standing over her bed. He had a syringe in one hand and a mournful expression on his face, as though his actions were hurting him more than they would hurt her. Robin screamed against and tried to roll away from him, only to find herself crashing to the floor off the other side of the bed. The impact hurt, but she just focused on getting away, crawling on her knees and forearms. When strong hands seized her, she screamed again, fighting with every bit of strength that she had left. A face finally came into view then and her movements slowed even as her brain struggled to catch up. It wasn’t Sam standing there, but Tuck. He spoke soothing words to her that she couldn’t understand and then she was back in bed again, her breathing still labored. Moments or hours passed and she heard John and Will shouting. Tuck’s low voice would sometimes mingle, joined by their mother’s quiet rationalism, but as much as Robin strained, she couldn’t pick up any words.

The blackness came for her.


	16. Chapter 16

When Robin returned, things seemed to be a bit steadier. Her blood no longer felt like it was boiling but she was still hot, and her head felt like someone with a tight grip was squeezing continually. It was uncomfortable, but such a marked improvement from earlier that she couldn’t complain.

She blinked her eyes a few times against the sunlight coming through her window. It looked like it was a beautiful day outside and Robin knew with a sudden clarity that she was lucky to be seeing it at all. Taking a deep and relieved breath, she turned her head away from the window and froze in surprise. She had expected that one of her siblings would be there, perhaps even her mother, but that was not the case. Instead, Robin found herself staring at Mary Markham.

Mary was a few years younger, but she and Robin had been friends since they were teenagers. Mary had been small and quiet, someone that other people found easy to forget. Tuck had noticed her, though, and despite the fact that he had gone into the priesthood, there had always been something between the two of them. Robin was never sure exactly how to categorize their relationship and she tried not to pry, but she did know that they loved each other.

“Mary?” she asked, her voice rough.

The other woman smiled at her. “I see you’ve decided to rejoin us. The others will be relieved.” 

“What happened?”

Mary’s smile dimmed. “I should let Tuck explain.”

“Or you could just fill me in.”

Her eyes slid to the open doorway, but there was no one there. When her gaze returned, Robin could see the fear and worry eating at her.

“You were poisoned,” she whispered. “Infected.”

Infected. That word really had only one meaning in their world. Robin struggled to sit up higher but Mary was immediately on her feet, pushing her back down.

“You need to rest, Robin. Seriously, we almost lost you a few hours ago…”

“She’s right.” They both looked up to see John stepping into the room. Instead of his suit he wore jeans and a black t-shirt, and Robin realized she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him so dressed down. He gestured toward the stairs with his head. “Tuck and the others are making dinner.”

Mary must have heard the implied dismissal. She smiled down at Robin again and squeezed her arm before leaving the room. John watched Mary go, only moving to the newly vacant chair once they were alone. Robin expected him to say something right away, but instead he lifted her right hand, fingers rubbing across her own. It took her a moment to notice the bandage wrapped around her middle finger.

“Do you remember this?” he asked.

Robin frowned. “Yeah. The lock bit me.”

He didn’t acknowledge her attempt at humor. “From what we can put together, there was a small needle inside of the lock.”

She let out a shaky breath, Mary’s words coming back to her. “The virus.”

John nodded.

“That’s a security feature we never saw coming.” She let out a hoarse laugh. “Oh my god.”

“I don’t think it was a security feature.” Robin snapped her head back to look at him, but John was focused on her hand again, still in his. “Sam Norrington came to see you yesterday.”

She jolted upright. “What?”

John was up immediately, just like Mary had been, trying to get her to lie back down. “You really have to rest,” he insisted. “Mary will have my hide if she finds out I upset you.”

Robin stopped fighting him, but remained sitting up. Resting back against the pillows, she gave her oldest brother a grimace. “You can tell her it’s Sam’s fault. You didn’t let him come up here, did you?”

He scoffed. “Of course not. We told him that you had that stomach thing that was going around a couple of weeks back. Promised him you would stop by as soon as you were feeling up to it.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Trust me - you won’t be going to see him anytime soon.” He paused. “When he was here, though, the man was obviously smug about something. Of course he wouldn’t share, but Sam wasn’t your only visitor yesterday.”

She frowned. “Who else came by?”

“Grant Gillthane.”

His name made her warm and terrified all at once. With everything had been going on in the past couple of days, she had almost forgotten their dance and the way he had made her feel. That all came rushing back, but it was tempered by the knowledge of what she had done - what she was. Grant was a cop and she was a thief, and now she could add murderer to that title as well.

“What happened with him?” she asked.

“We told him that you were sick. He got this funny look on his face for just a moment, but then it was gone. And then Tuck asked about Sam and what was making him so happy lately.

“Did Grant know?”

“Yeah. And since Grant’s always had a lot of respect for Tuck - and probably because he’s in love with you - he told him. Apparently Sam set out a huge trap to catch the thief. Rigged every potential target that he could.”

A cold knot formed in the pit of her stomach. “He planted the virus all over the city?”

John nodded. “Grant said the traps have all been taken down now, but Tuck said the guy was pretty shaken. So now Sam is just sitting back and waiting for his thief to show up at the hospital, or for someone to report a possible outbreak.”

“That was his plan? He could have destroyed the city! What if I had bitten someone, or even just scratched them? That would have spread like wildfire. The entire Second might have gone up, including his precious Regents!”

“Honestly, he probably still thought that someone from the Third was the thief. And you know how much he cares about those people. I agree with you, though. Someone that willing to use the virus like that…he’s the last person who should have any access to it. And it really bothers me that he could get enough to rig that many traps.”

Robin tried to settle down again, but now she was just too agitated. “So how am I still alive?”

“Mary smuggled out some of the antidote. Not enough, mind you. She’ll have to go back to the hospital and get the last couple of doses.”

“Is that what you and Tuck were arguing about?”

John looked at her in surprise. “Tuck and I argued about a lot of things. None of which you need to be bothered with right now.” He reached out and pushed some of her hair back gently. “We almost lost you, Robbie. Get some rest.”

“John…”

“I’ll come get you for dinner,” he promised. “It shouldn’t be long. They’ll all be happy to see that you’re up and about.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she murmured.

He stared down at her for a moment more and then left the room, leaving her alone. Robin watched him go, unsure of how she was feeling and unsure of what the future might hold - for all of them.


	17. Chapter 17

Sam tapped his pen against the desk, the movement harsh and agitated. His eyes were fixed on some point across the room. Grant watched him out of the corner of his eye as he worked on some of his backlogged paperwork. A part of him wanted to be childish and interrupt his partner. He knew how much it would annoy Sam to lose his train of thought before he’d followed it all the way through. Lately, though…Sam scared him. He had always known that his partner had his eyes set on the most powerful seat in the city. The way he had so callously set a lethal and potentially dangerous trap all around the Second, though…Grant didn’t think Sam cared about the body count or who he had to stab in the back in order to get what he wanted. Maybe it wasn’t worth the risk to piss him off about the little things anymore.

“We should have heard something by now.” 

Once Sam had broken his silence, Grant knew it was at least safer for him to speak.

“No reports of a suspicious illness,” he replied, having kept a special eye out. “No reports of any sudden violent bursts, either. And I double-checked with the hospital twenty minutes ago - no one has come in with any of the symptoms.”

Sam nodded while staring. “That only leaves us with three scenarios.”

Grant held up a thumb. “One, they’re immune to the virus.”

“Extremely unlikely. Even the few people who didn’t turn from the bite were shown to be susceptible to the strain we have.”

Grant added his index finger. “The infected person is being protected by friends or family, kept safely locked away as the virus takes its hold. Though that’s stupid, quite frankly.” He paused. “Unless a loved one already put them out of their misery. In that case, they wouldn’t even be reported missing yet. No good way to check up on that one.”

Sam held up three fingers. “Our thief has a friend in the hospital. Someone with access to the antidote.” He growled. “Dammit!” Standing up from his chair suddenly, he grabbed his jack and jabbed a finger at Grant. “Go through all of the hospital personnel. I want to know who has access and who their friends are.”

“Where are you going?”

“To lock that place down."


	18. Chapter 18

Mary kept her eyes down as she walked into the hospital. It was way too early for her shift, but she needed to get the last of the antidote that would clear the virus from Robin’s system. Doctors and nurses were coming and going at all hours of the anyway; as long as you were there for your shift, you could move around all you wanted to otherwise.

“Hey, Mary.”

She looked up to see Alan manning the nurse’s station and she smiled. “Morning, Alan.”

“What are you doing here? Your shift doesn’t start for another couple of hours.”

She gave a small shrug. “You know me. I had nothing better to do. Thought I’d come down and see if you guys could use an extra set of hands.”

“We can always use the extra help.” Alan looked uncomfortable suddenly, shifting his weight nervously. “Mary…”

Everything inside of her froze. Alan was always happy to see her and usually waved her through without any questions other than how she was doing. His eyes were shifting around the room, though, as thought he’d been given an unpleasant task. 

Then she saw Sam Norrington. His back was to her and she could see that he was giving instructions to a small group of hospital guards and cops. Robin needed her last dose of the antidote, but it wouldn’t do them any good if Mary got herself arrested or followed. They needed a new plan.

She forced herself to roll her eyes. “Don’t tell me they’re cracking down on overtime again.”

Alan looked so relieved for the out she gave him that Mary pitied him for the position he’d been placed in. The police presence told him that someone was in trouble, but that didn’t mean that anyone wanted a hand in getting a friend caught. 

“You know how the coin counters are,” he replied. “They like to make things difficult for the rest of us.”

“I’ll just come back when it’s time for my shift, then. Thanks, Alan.”

It hurt to leave the hospital without the antidote, but the current alternatives were worse. They just had to find another way.


	19. Chapter 19

Grant shouldn’t have been there. He should have been at the hospital, showing Sam what he had found. If his suspicions were right, though, it wouldn’t have mattered who his partner was. This was something he needed to find out on his own. And after that…well, he wasn’t sure what choice he would make.

He had never been to Robin’s apartment before. Their interactions were always in public. If they hadn’t been, Grant was fairly certain where their relationship would have gone by now. To be honest with himself, he still wanted it to go in that direction regardless of the answers he found. He wasn’t sure what that said about him as a cop, but he knew what it said about him as a man…and he was strangely okay with that.

When Tuck was the one who answered the door, Grant wasn’t surprised.

“Detective,” the priest greeted him. “How are you?”

“I’m okay, Father. And yourself?”

Tuck gave him a small smile. “Honestly, I’m a little tired.”

“I think most of us are.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I need to talk to you about something. May I come in?”

There was the slightest hesitation, but Grant saw it.

“Of course,” Tuck replied, opening the door fully. “Let’s go in the kitchen. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“No, I’m fine,” he replied. “Is Robin around?”

Tuck busied himself with getting some water. “She’s upstairs sleeping, actually. Still fighting that bug.”

Grant let out a long breath and set his folder down on the center island. “Look, Tuck. I’ve got a few things to say and you’re not gonna like them and it’s gonna be uncomfortable. But I don’t really have the energy to dance around this, and since I’m pretty sure someone’s life depends on it, I don’t have the time, either.” When Tuck didn’t turn around, Grant decided he might as well just keep going. “So here’s how I see it. Robin is the one pulling off these heists. She’s using you and your church to siphon out the funds into the Third, because they’re the only people who actually need it. The Regent vault was probably supposed to be her last job, since quite a lot was taken. Nobody expected Sam’s trap, though, and Robin got infected. So your nurse friend stole the antidote from the hospital to help her. “Have I got it about right?”

“You’re missing one or two things, but that’s pretty much the gist.”

Both men spun around to see Will leaning against the doorframe. Her eyes were hard as they stared at Grant and he suddenly felt like he was on very dangerous ground. 

“And what things did I miss?” he asked carefully.

Will shrugged. “Well, first of all, Robbie wasn’t doing this by herself. She had a partner.”

That wasn’t really surprising. “You?” 

“Of course.”

“And the second thing?”

Will pushed away from the doorway and stalked into the room, heading toward the sideboard near her brother.

“Mary could only get some of the antidote. Robbie’s not safe yet.”

Grant froze, staring at the backs of Tuck and Will. Since putting together thatRobin was a likely suspect, he had been trying to decide what he would do with her. All of his scenarios involved her healthy, though, and knowing that she was still in danger made everything stop.

“How much more does she need?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

“Another two doses,” Will replied, not turning around.

“I’m not…I don’t know what you want from me.”

“I think you have a choice to make, Detective. I’m just waiting for you to make up your mind.”

Grant didn’t realize how much danger he was really in until just before it was over. Will’s shoulders went taut so quickly that he only had time to blink, and then Tuck was reaching out and placing a hand on his sister’s arm.

“That’s not necessary, Will,” he murmured. Then he pulled a sharp knife from her hands and set it down out of her reach before turning to face Grant again. “The way I see it, you have three choices.”

Still unnerved with the ease that Will had displayed with the knife and wondering if she had more on her, he struggled to give Tuck his full attention. 

“One?”

“You could take your findings and turn us in. At best, John and Mom would lose their positions. I’m not sure what would happen to Will and I, but Robin would be publicly executed. Infected again and shot in the head. They might even make you pull the trigger.”

Grant’s mouth went dry. “Two?”

“You pretend you don’t know anything. Chances are one of us gets caught stealing the antidote and we’re back to public executions. Will is good, though. She might be able to pull it off. But I would expect more blood that way. She’s still very upset about Ollie, and with Robin…well, she’s a bit distraught.”

Will turned around finally, crossing her arms over her chest. “Some might even question my stability.”

“Not to your face, if they wanted to live,” Grant muttered. He took a steadying breath. “And three?”

Tuck was quiet for a moment, but his eyes never left Grant’s. “You get us the antidote and you save her life.”

Grant hoped no one asked him how he made the decision so easily at that point - he never would have been able to put it into words. He looked at Will. “Do you have any more blades on you?”

“Always.” She held up her empty hands though. “But I’m not planning on killing you. Tuck has a thing about bloodshed. And Robbie would never forgive me.”

He nodded. “Good. I wouldn’t want anyone thinking I was coerced.” He took another breath. “So how do you want to do this?”

Will smiled.


	20. Chapter 20

It shouldn’t have been so easy. Grant wasn't sure whether the simplicity of the theft said more about the quality of the other cops or his own ability to lie, but it didn't really matter anymore.

Avoiding Sam had been key. His partner would have asked about the list of employees, and though Grant could have lied about having it, that just would have caused more problems. He had no reason to be in the hospital without that report.

But he had made it and now he was knocking on Robin’s door for the second time that day. It was John that answered, with tension and hope warring in his eyes.

“Detective.”

“I’ve got it,” Grant said, sidestepping any subtlety. “Please let me in.”

John stepped aside and let him in. He led Grant through the kitchen and up the stairs, his steps quick and purposeful.

“Did you get both doses?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

John took him to the third room on the left, knocking softly before opening the door and stepping inside.

Grant wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but he was relieved to see Robin looking like herself, sitting up in bed and talking. She seemed tired, her color not quite right, but she was Robin.

His mind registered that the rest of the family, along with Mary Markham, was in the room as well, but then Robin was looking right at him and he forgot everyone else. 

“Grant?”

She sounded confused, and he realized that they hadn’t told her. He walked over to Mary and handed her the drug. “I think you’re the most qualified to administer this?”

She smiled up at him and nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

While Mary prepared the injection, Grant moved over towards the bed. Robin was shaking her head at him with tears in her eyes, but he just sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled at her as he took her hand.

“How are you feeling?”

“You weren’t supposed to get involved with this.”

“I don’t think there’s any way that I could stay out of it. It’s you, Robin. I couldn’t make any other choice.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I’m not,” he replied honestly. Reaching out his free hand, he brushed aside some of her hair, enjoying the comfort of touching her. “You can’t stay here, though.”

“What?” Will asked sharply.

But Robin just nodded sadly. “I know.” She looked at her family. “Sam is a smart man. He’ll figure this out, and then he’ll come for us. All of us.” She turned her attention back to Grant. “That includes you.”

“I know.”

Her hand tightened on his. “Will you come with us?”

It didn’t matter that he couldn’t stay in the Second. Robin asking him to go with her; that was the only thing that mattered.

“I’ll be right behind you,” he assured her. “I’ll only stay long enough to finish a few things up and then I’ll be there.”

“You promise?”

He leaned in and kissed her softly, mindful that her family was there but unable to refrain. When he pulled away, he pressed his forehead against hers and smiled.

“Promise.”


	21. Chapter 21

There were a couple of things Grant needed from his home and his office before he could escape with Robin and the others. He made the apartment his first stop, throwing some clothes and toiletries into a bag. It surprised him, a bit, how easy it was to walk away from the only life he’d ever known. As he took one last look at the place, though, at the mostly-bare walls and the furniture he couldn’t even remember buying, he didn’t have any trouble saying goodbye to it all. He knew that getting out of the Second was only the beginning and that he likely had some rough waters ahead, but he liked to think it would be better than the mundane existence he had been eking out up until this point. 

Going to the police station was dangerous and not entirely necessary. Grant debated the merits of both options, but eventually decided that it was worth the risk. He had two more guns in his bottom drawer that he would feel much better having with him. Aside from that, he wanted to see if he could find out any last bits of information before he dropped off the radar. The chances weren’t great, but if he could pick up any last bits of information before he dropped off the radar, he had to risk it.

He made some phone calls from the apartment, ensuring that Sam was still at the hospital trying to catch their antidote thief. His partner might have been good at making friends with rookies and the Regents, but there were a good number of older cops who didn’t trust him. Naturally, and partly out of a foreboding sense of self-preservation, Grant had gravitated toward those men and made friends with them. 

Sam had a lot of the rookies out with him, believing himself to be just one step away from closing the case. Grant kept a cautious eye out as he entered the precinct, though, wanting to avoid anyone that would go back to Sam with news of his appearance; worse, one of them might know about the information Grant was supposed to be digging up on hospital employees and ask him about it. No one stopped him though, and aside from a few of the old guard that nodded amicably in his direction, Grant reached his desk without any interactions.

He pulled the guns out first, slipping one into an ankle holster hidden by his pant leg, and putting the other in a holster that rested in the small of his back. From his history lessons in school, he knew that before the Outbreak, most places had metal detectors and other security measures to make sure that people weren’t just walking around with loaded weapons. Southwarren had its own security measures, but they mostly amounted to weapons not being legal for people without special permits, and since Grant was a cop, he was pretty much expected to be armed at all times. 

Closing the drawer, he looked around the precinct for a moment. He really should just get out of there and head back to Robin’s. She was right. Sam was a lot of things, but a bad detective wasn’t one of them. He’d figure it all out, sooner rather than later, and they needed to be out of the Second before that happened. Information would have been useful to have, but not if it cost them valuable time. The longer he stood there, the more convinced he was that the risk was no longer worth the potential reward.

He turned to leave, but stopped when his eyes landed on an open file folder on one of the rookies’ desks. He saw a picture of Mary staring up at him and he went cold. That couldn’t be a coincidence. He knew that his report was safely hidden away in the bottom of his duffel bag, but somehow, the information had been dug up by somebody else. He wasn’t the only one that knew anymore. If the news hadn’t already reached Sam, it was probably well on its way…

“Richardson looked like a smug bastard when he found that,” a gravelly voice said from behind him. 

Grant looked up to see Cameron Parker standing there. Parker was just a year shy of being able to retire, but he was as sharp as they came. More importantly, he thought Sam was worse than something that got stuck to the bottom of your shoe. 

“I bet he was anxious to share it with Sam, too,” Grant replied.

“Oh yeah,” Parker said, nodding. “Guy probably thinks he just made his career.”

“Maybe he did.”

“I’d like to think there’s a change on the wind, myself. Anything has to be better than Norrington climbing any higher up the ranks.”

“He’s still just a detective, Cam.”

“I think that’s what most of us like to tell ourselves. Makes it easier to to ignore what we all fear is coming.” He stepped forward, turning so that he was leaning against the rookie’s desk and facing Grant, his arms crossed over his chest. “I was in the communications room a little while ago. Just after Richardson shared his great discovery with Norrington.”

Grant struggled to keep his expression neutral. “Oh?”

“Arrest warrants are being drawn up for certain members of the Hueller family. Damnedest thing I’v ever heard, honestly. I don’t think there’s another family I respect as much as them.” He narrowed his eyes. “How’s that lady I always see you staring at, by the way? One of Rachel’s girls, isn’t she?”

Grant suddenly found it difficult to swallow. “Yeah. She’s okay.”

Parker nodded. “You make sure she stays that way, Grant.”

The two detectives stared at each other for a moment and Grant heard everything the other man wasn’t saying. “That’s the plan,” he replied. He stuck out his hand. “Thanks, Cam.”

“Anytime. And godspeed, Gillthane. You’re gonna need it.”

Grant squeezed his hand one more time and then let it go, forcing himself to calmly turn and walk out of the bullpen. He wanted to run, terrified that he wouldn’t get back to Robin before the warrants were signed and Sam was banging down her door. He couldn’t draw attention to himself though, not now. So he walked briskly, looking like a man on a mission.

Their safest way out of the Second was through the tunnels, and everyone had readily agreed to that. Once Grant had left the Hueller’s to get his own things, their plan had been to go straight to the Regent Headquarters and head for the tunnels. Grant could only pray that they had actually done that and that he would get there to find them already gone. He had promised Robin he would be right behind them, and that was the plan he was sticking to.

He was relieved to get to the building and find that there were no vans or flashing lights around it. Even if the warrants had already gone through, there was a good chance that Sam would head for the apartments first, and that would give them just a little more time. 

Security was a blur as he made his way through. No one stopped him. No one questioned him. He signed his name on the sheet, vaguely registering that if Sam hadn’t realized his complicity before, that piece of paper was going to give him away. He was already committed, though, and he just moved past the security station as quickly as he could, almost jogging up the stairs as he headed for Rachel Hueller’s office. 

His heart almost stopped when he saw that they were all still there. Even as he took in the fact that Robin looked almost completely healthy again and that she was standing instead of being confined to the bed, he wanted to shout at all of them. They might not have known about the warrants yet, but they still should have understood the urgency, the need for them to get out as soon as they could. Before he could even open his mouth, though, Rachel pointedly swept her gaze over the members of her staff that were also in the outer room of her office. 

“Detective Gillthane,” she greeted, “I’m so glad that you could join us.”

He choked back his words, stumbling to catch up. “Of course, ma’am.”

Rachel turned to a woman Grant didn’t know. “Cecilia, I need to meet with the detective and my children. Could you hold all of my calls and visitors, please?”

“Absolutely.”

Rachel smiled warmly at her and then gestured with her head for the rest of them to follow her into her private office. Tuck was the last to enter and made sure that the doors were closed firmly behind him. 

“Why are you still here?” Grant asked as soon as he thought it was safe. “You all should have been long gone by now.”

“I agree,” John said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Robin wouldn’t leave without you, though.”

Grant looked over at her in surprise. “I said I would be right behind you.”

“And we all know how well plans usually go,” she retorted. “You’re here now. Which means we can leave, right?”

“You all can,” Rachel said. “I am staying.”

The room froze for almost fifteen seconds before everyone starting yelling and arguing. Grant knew that his own voice was mixed with with the fray, but he wasn’t sure of what he was saying. Instead, he found himself noticing that John wasn’t making any arguments. Grant’s own words died out at that realization, moments before Rachel held up her hands and motioned for silence.

“I won’t run,” she said firmly. “This is still my city and I am still bound to protect it and lead it as best I can. Robin, Will, you have to go. You’re not safe here anymore and I think you’ll be needed more in the Third at this point. Tuck -“

“I’m not leaving just yet,” he said, “but I know I can’t stay, either. Once they figure out who’s been taking the money and where it’s been going, my church will become a target. I have some things to take care of, to keep my parishioners safe. Then I’ll head out through the tunnels underneath.”

Rachel nodded. “Good. John -“

“I’m not leaving you.”

His mother sighed at that, her shoulders dropping just a little. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”

“We need people on this side of the Wall anyway,” he reasoned. “You and I will do whatever we can from here. We both know things are going to blow up soon. I won’t leave you here alone.”

She smiled at him, and though there was sadness in it, Grant could have sworn he saw relief as well. 

“Detective,” she said, finally turning to him.

“I think at this point you can call me Grant.”

The smile she gave to him had no sadness in it whatsoever. “Point well taken. Grant, it will be up to you to keep my girls safe and get them through to the Third. Can you do that?”

He’d never been one for making promises just to make people feel better. “If I can’t, I’ll die trying.”

Her eyes searched his for a moment. “I believe you really would,” she said quietly.

“Mom -“ Robin started, stepping forward.

Rachel held up her hand. “We don’t have time for this, dear.”

Grant hated himself for opening his mouth, but he didn’t have a choice. “She’s right. Warrants are being drawn up for certain members of this family as we speak. I couldn’t get specific names, but we don’t have any time left.”

Will glared at him. “You could have opened with that, you know!”

Robin closed the distance between herself and her mother and hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for it to come to this.”

Rachel pulled back slightly and held her daughter’s face in her hands. “I know you didn’t, Robin. But let’s be honest…it’s been heading here since I first taught you to throw a knife or pick a lock. It was selfish of me, and you may hate me for it some day, but I can’t deny that I’ve been training you for this.”

“Really, Mom?” Will cut in. “You wait until the dramatic last moment to admit you adopted us as political pawns?”

The words cut through the room, but Rachel didn’t even blink. Instead, she pressed a kiss to Robin’s forehead and then moved to her younger daughter, brushing her hair off one shoulder. “It’s true that you’ve always served a political purpose, Willow. And I think you’ve always known that. But did you ever once doubt that I love you as deeply as I loved the family the other Regents took from me?”

Will’s eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t say anything. Rachel kissed her forehead as well and then stepped away, physically and emotionally distancing herself from the children she had to leave. A loud knock on the door behind Tuck made them all jump a moment later, and the priest shared a heavy look with Grant before placing his hand on the doorknob. Grant took up a good position and reached for the gun at his back. They all breathed a sigh of relief, though, when it was just Cecilia on the other side of the door. 

She looked at each of them, probably taking in the tension, before her eyes settled on Rachel. “Ma’am, I’ve just received word that the police have raided Robin and Will’s apartment. There are also rumors that more officers are on their way here. I thought you should know.”

“Thank you, Cecilia. If you could just give me a few more minutes with my children, I’ll be ready to receive any visitors we might have shortly.” She paused. “And perhaps you could send the rest of the staff home for an early weekend. I think they deserve it, don’t you?”

“That sounds like a great idea, ma’am. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to stay.”

Rachel looked at her for a long moment. “Only if you want to, Cecilia.”

Her secretary smiled. “Honestly? There’s no place else I could be right now, ma’am.” She nodded at the rest of them and then stepped out again, closing the door behind her. 

Rachel turned to Grant immediately. “Go. Now. We’ve wasted too much time.”

He spared a moment to shake hands with Tuck and John and then took Robin’s hand, leading her over to the trap door that Will had already exposed. 

“I will do everything I can to make sure you see them again,” he promised, his voice low as Will hurried down the ladder.

Robin squeezed his hand, looking at him instead of the people she was leaving. “I know. Thank you," was all she said as she/they followed her sister down into the darkness.


	22. Chapter 22

They ran. 

There really wasn’t any more time to be subtle or quiet about things. The beams of their flashlights bounced along the dark corridors as they raced through them, following another set of directions that John had laid out for them. Their route completely avoided the place where they had met up with Tuck after the last job, as well as the intersection where they had killed the two guards. Their whole plan hinged on no one being in the tunnels, but there was always the chance that Sam had left men in those areas as a precaution. 

All three of them were aware that their time was running precariously short. If Sam was already heading for the Regent Headquarters, then he wasn’t far behind them. He might not know about the specific entrance to the tunnels from Rachel’s office, but he definitely knew about the underground network. It wouldn’t take much for him to go to another entrance and try to head them off before they made it to the Third. Depending on who the warrants were for, they might bypass the rest of the family entirely and just start the manhunt in the tunnels. Either way, they needed to make it past the Wall and to a hiding place on the other side. 

They were almost there when they heard voices and the pounding of booted feet. Though it was obvious that the cops were descending on them, the tunnels distorted the sounds, and there was no way to tell what direction they were coming from or how close they really were. Robin was tempted to change their course more than once, but it was just as likely that doing so would bring them right to the people chasing them. She knew that they needed to keep a level head and not let fear make any of their decisions for them. 

There were only two turns left for them to make when a bright light flooded over them from behind and a sharp voice cried out for them to stop. They took the first of the turns at a breakneck speed, trying to stay out of any direct line of sight that would allow shots to be fired. Will was leading the way, her memory for directions being better than everyone else’s; as she sped up even more, Robin and Grant did what they could to match her pace even as the sounds of pursuit behind them grew louder.

Robin was only a couple of steps behind Grant as they hit the final intersection, and she took the turn too wide. Somehow, her feet slid out from under her and she hit the cement hard, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Her flashlight clattered out of her hand and rolled away; her eyes followed it numbly until it came to a stop beside a black boot.

“Robin?”

Her eyes seemed to travel up his body slowly, but eventually she found herself looking at Sam Norrington, his gun half-raised and his face twisted in confusion. She wanted to laugh at the incongruity of it all - why was he confused when he had come down here hunting for her?

“It can’t be you,” he said, shaking his head. “Tell me you’re just protecting your sister. Please…”

Her mind struggled to process that, to make sense of what he was saying. Before she could, though, there was the scuffle of shoes behind her and then hands hauling her to her feet.

“Run!” Grant hissed in her ear.

Sam’s eyes hardened when they landed on his former partner and then he was raising his gun back up. Grant forced Robin to turn and they both ran, hoping that the darkness would hide them from Sam’s rage and aim. When the shots finally came, their sound was explosive in the confined space. Robin heard the bullets ricochet off of the floor and walls, and then she heard a gasp from Grant that made her heart sink. Instead of stopping, though, he gripped her arm and continued to propel them forward, toward where Will was waiting impatiently at a hidden exit up ahead.

“Just a graze,” he bit out. “This is our stop.”

Will had the door open already and Grant pushed Robin through first. Once they were clear, Will slid in behind them and secured the door, pressing her palms flat against it for a moment as she caught her breath. 

“Where were you hit?” Robin asked, her mind focusing on the only thing it could.

Grant shook his head. “Later.”

“Where?”

“I said, later.”

“Grant Gillthane, I swear to God -“

Will turned around to face them. “It’ll take him a little while to find that exit and figure out how to open it, but we need to move.” She gestured at Grant. “Life-threatening?”

“No. We can patch me up when we’re somewhere safer.” He glanced over at Robin. “I promise.”

She wanted to argue, but there was no sense in pushing it. They weren’t safe yet, and if Grant said he could keep going, then she had to trust that he was telling the truth. Robin squeezed his arm and then looked at her sister.

“Let’s get to that somewhere safer then.”

Will nodded and led them up the stairs.


	23. Chapter 23

There were raids. 

Of course, there had always been raids in the Third, but now they were coming so often that the people weren’t surprised to see them anymore. They would flinch, though, and send up a silent prayer for whichever house or business the vans stopped in front of. Every day more and more people were suffering beatings and interrogations at the hands of Sam Norrington and his little army. No matter who they beat or what they threatened, though, the people of theThird refused to give them what they wanted. 

Grant, Robin, and Will moved from house to house on a random schedule, mostly keeping to the tunnels and the shadows. It made Robin sick to know that they were doing nothing but hiding and running while other people were suffering for the things she and her sister had done. She found it almost impossible to look anybody in the eye; she thought they must hate her for the way she was disrupting their lives and putting them all in danger. If it had been just her own life at stake, she might have turned herself in by now, just to spare everyone else. That would betray the people she loved, though, and that wasn’t an option.

She had lost track of the number of houses they had stayed in days ago. Looking up at Tuck as he packed their bags again, she finally asked something she hadn’t dared to yet.

“Who was hit last night?”

Tuck stopped packing and turned slowly to look at her. “What?”

“Who was hit? Whose house got raided?”

He stared at her for a moment. “Why?”

“Just tell me. Please.”

He still hesitated, but eventually gave in. “The priest of the church that’s connected to mine through the tunnels.”

“Does he have a wife?”

“He’s a widower. She died giving birth to their third son when the hospital refused them admission.”

Robin flinched as though she’d been struck in the face. “I thought the Second had to let women giving birth into the hospital.”

“That’s the general rule. There are provisions in it, though. Vague excuses they can use to deny someone entry. She ended up giving birth just outside of the gatehouse. It was raining, but they wouldn’t even let her come inside. Said they didn’t want the mess.” Tuck threw the shirt he was folding down onto the bed. “Under any other circumstances, I think Martin might have gone into a rage and killed them. But he was standing in the rain with a screaming newborn…he entered the priesthood a week later.”

Robin stood up and crossed the room, gently picking up the shirt and refolding it. “We should go to his house next.”

Tuck gave her a sharp look. “What?”

“He suffered because of us. It might be his choice to protect us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t carry at least some of the responsibility. From now on, we should move to a house that’s already been hit. We both know the Second isn’t going to let any of them in to the hospital. So we go, we do whatever can for them medically…we help them cook, help them try to rebuild whatever the raids broke…Dammit, Tucker, we should be doing more for these people than just running and hiding, and you know it!”

Her voice broke and Robin forcibly shut her mouth before she could start sobbing again. She had cried more times in the past few weeks than she had ever cried in her entire life, and still it didn’t seem like enough. There was a pain inside of her now that she wasn’t sure would ever be eased. She wasn’t sure she deserved for it to fade away, either. 

Tuck was looking down at her with a gentle expression and he nodded. “You’re right. And it makes logistical sense, too, so it won’t be difficult to convince Grant and Will. We’ll go to Martin’s next.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Tuck pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. “I know everything hurts right now, Robin, but I don’t think it will last much longer. There’s too much pressure and everything is bound to blow at some point. Then we’ll get our chance to really change things.”

“You know what that means, though, right?”

He pulled back slightly so that he could really look at her. “What?”

“Things will probably get much worse before they get better. They have to, to reach the boiling point.”

“We can take it.”

He said it with a confidence that Robin couldn’t share, but she didn’t argue with him.


	24. Chapter 24

The sisters prepared dinner without speaking, instead listening to the sounds of Tuck and Grant rebuilding a wall in the living room. Martin and his son had certainly been surprised to see them, but they hadn’t turned down the offer of help. Tuck had immediately gone to work patching up the bruises and lacerations that the priest had sustained during the very physical interrogation, while the rest of them tried to put the house back into some semblance of order. There was no way they were going to be able to repair everything that had been broken, but at least they could make things a little easier on the family.

There was a break in the banging coming from the other room and it allowed Robin to hear quiet footsteps behind them. Will whirled around instantly, the kitchen knife in her hand instantly flipping into a defensive stance. Instead of an intruder, though, the two of them found themselves facing Warren, Martin’s youngest son. Will lowered her guard and set the knife back on the counter, taking a deep steadying breath. 

“Careful there, little man,” she said, turning back to the carrots she had been cutting. “You startled us, and that’s never a safe thing to do.”

Robin thought that maybe she should say something to the boy; she could apologize for what had happened to his father and to his home. She wondered if she could ever explain to him why she had made the choices she made, or the enormity of what was happening in their city. She could barely explain it to herself, though, and there was no apology big enough or sincere enough to ever make up for what he had lost over the course of his lifetime.

“They talk about you, you know.”

His voice was soft but strong, and it surprised Robin. Picking up a nearby towel, she dried her hands off and leaned back against the counter. “Who?”

“Everybody.”

“And what do they say?”

Warren held her gaze. “That you killed people. That if the bad cop catches you, you’ll all die. That you could change everything.”

“Do you want things to change?”

He seemed to think about it for a moment. “I think maybe they have to.” He paused. “I just wish that maybe they had changed in time for my mom.”

Will turned around then, the carrots forgotten. She crossed the room and then knelt down in front of Warren, not touching him but meeting his eyes squarely. “Maybe we can change them in time for the next mom. How does that sound?”

Warren nodded. “I like that idea.”

“My son isn’t bothering you, is he?”

Martin walked into the kitchen, moving slowly as though his body was stiff. Robin hadn’t seen the majority of his bruises herself, but Tuck had told her that his torso was in rough shape. He still greeted them with a smile, though. Robin found herself once again astounded by the strength of the people around her. 

She was the one that answered him as Will pushed herself back up to her feet. “Not at all. He was just asking questions, like most little boys like to do.”

“And him more than most of the others I know.” He ruffled his son’s hair. “Go help your brothers set the table, please.”

“Okay.” 

He gave Will a little wave and then disappeared out of the room. Martin watched him go and then eased himself down onto one of the stools by the counter.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” he asked. “It feels strange letting someone else do all the work.”

Robin held up a hand to stop him. “Please. You’ve done more than enough. This isn’t much, but…let us. Please.”

“You’ve done your fair share, though,” he countered. “The two of you provided a lot of money for the Third that we desperately needed. Everyone knows that.”

“And that’s why they haven’t turned us in?” Robin asked. “Despite the fact that they’re homes are being violated and their being beaten up?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Father. It just doesn’t feel fair, no matter how I try to slice it. I still feel like a coward who’s letting other people fight my battles for me.”

Martin stared down at the counter quietly for a few moments. “Did Tuck tell you what happened to my wife?”

Robin swallowed thickly. “Yes.”

Martin nodded. “I’m not sure if he added the part where I used to be quite the hothead. I was constantly clashing with anybody that I could and getting myself into fights. That day, knowing that Kari had died for nothing more than an exhibition of power…I’ve never been more angry in my life. I wanted to rip that guard house apart piece by piece, and break the neck of every single man inside of it.”

“Why didn’t you?” Will asked.

Her brazenness struck Robin as uncaring, but Martin didn’t seem bothered by it. “I had a son,” he said simply. “I know, I had two at home already as well, but…I had my youngest son in my hands and I was the only thing that could keep him safe at that moment. If I had gone on a rampage, what would have happened to him? I had other considerations…considerations that have since made me a more patient and cautious man.” He paused, looking once more in the direction his son had gone. “Do you ladies know why I’m so invested in what’s going on in the Third right now? Why I would take a beating like the one I did without giving anything away?”

Will shrugged. “I figured it was because of what they took from you.”

Martin shook his head. “It’s because I know what’s coming if we don’t do this now.”

Robin frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“You probably haven’t had a lot of contact with our young men and women in the Third,” he explained. “They’re surprisingly aware of what’s going on. They know about those denied access to the hospitals and left to die horrific and needless deaths. They know about the food shortages and the lack of medical supplies. They know about the raids and the terror that sweeps over their parents every time they hear a vehicle stop outside of their door. These children have watched their mothers and their fathers live in fear - not for themselves, but for the families that they would do anything to protect. And instead of being afraid like their parents, these children are angry. There is a righteous burning consuming them from the inside out and they don’t have the considerations that I did to make them follow the status quo. I know because I see it in the children in my parish. I see it in the children that live on this very street. I see it in my own boys. If we don’t rise up and put a stop to this now, then these children will become adults, and they will not sit idly by. They will storm the Second and the First in a wave of blood that will consume the entire city. There is a very good chance that we could lose some people in the next few days or weeks. But if these children grow up with this anger still in their hearts and their rights still being consistently denied them…they will stop at nothing to burn everything to the ground. People in the Second…innocent people too blind or self-absorbed to realize what’s going on…will die by the hundreds. There won’t be a city left standing when they get through.”

Robin pressed her hands into the counter and shook her head. “I still don’t get when things got this bad.”

“They’ve always been this bad, Robbie,” Will replied. “What do you think Mom has been fighting against all of these years?”

“Your sister is right,” Martin said. “I’m not sure if either of you know this, but your mother is something of a legend in the Third. Do you know much about her life before she adopted all of you?”

“Only bits and pieces,” Robin answered. “Some of it we’ve had to put together ourselves. We never asked her outright.”

“That’s because we never wanted to make her relive it,” Will added. “I got the feeling that she had been through enough.”

Martin nodded. “Indeed she has. Your mother has been a Regent since she was in her early twenties, having inherited the position from her own father. He died unexpectedly at a relatively young age. Foul play was suspected, though nobody could prove anything or make any outright accusations. Regardless, your mother took on his role and it became obvious fairly quickly that she wasn’t one to tow the line as far as the status quo was concerned. She wanted the restrictions lifted on the hospitals. She wanted more interaction between the people of the Third and those of the Second. The other Regents weren’t slow in realizing that they had a problem on their hands. But killing a Regent is tricky, and they had already tried that route.”

“So they went after her family instead,” Will said.

“Exactly. Officially, it was a freak accident that set that building on fire. Rachel knew, though. Her son and her daughter and her husband had been killed as a message to her. The fire also eliminated any and all heirs to her position…which meant that the other Regents would have the chance to vote in someone else once Rachel either died or decided to step down.

“Those bastards,” Will muttered darkly, shaking her head.

“Mom got them, though, didn’t she?” Robin asked. “They never saw them coming.”

Martin snorted. “Damn right they didn’t. Nothing in the Regent bylaws that state that your heirs have to be biological children.” He paused and looked at Robin. “I don’t think she got the idea until they found you just outside of the Walls, though. Still a damn miracle that the guards didn’t shoot you on sight. You were such a little thing, but tougher than nails. Once you’d gone through a quarantine period and every known medical test…Rachel was right there to take you home. And then she just picked you all up, one by one, until she had a full family again.” He gave each of them a long look. “The people of the Third respect your mother because she lost everything and picked herself back up. She rebuilt. And she’s offered up her children again for the cause of those who need it the most. That’s why they’re willing to burn it all down for you. Because you’ve been fighting alongside them all along.”

Robin was still bracing her weight on the counter, unsure of what to say. She had known that her mother had lost her family. She had always suspected that it had been political in nature. The strength that the woman had displayed, though…she continued to fight for people because it was the right thing to do, regardless of the consequences for herself or the ones she loved. That kind of courage was staggering, and for a moment, she couldn’t breathe.

“Do you know why I named my son Warren?” Martin asked suddenly.

Robin was thrown by the change of subject, but Will replied. “I was actually wondering about that. Why would you name him after the city that killed his mother?”

“Because Kari believed in Rachel Hueller. She believed that there was a change riding in on the wind and she was so hopeful that our children would get to reap the benefits. Right now, Southwarren is an ugly place because of the people that rule it. But Warren is going to help build the new Southwarren, deciding what it stands for and how it takes care of its people. He won’t just be a nuisance that those in power would rather forget about. Change is coming, and my son is going to be a part of it.”

Robin could feel tears in her eyes, but the priest’s words gave her a hope she’d been lacking. If the people of the Third believed in her so much, then she needed to stand tall under that mantle. She owed them at least that much. Stepping away from the counter, she shared a look with Will, seeing the same fire and determination in her sister’s eyes.

“We’ll fight for that future,” she promised, “with everything that we have.”

“I know you will." Martin nodded gravely. "You already are.”


	25. Chapter 25

Robin was on high alert as soon as the lights flicked on, her heart pounding in her throat at the idea that they had been discovered. Her hand immediately slid beneath her pillow to grab the knife she kept there, but just as her fingers wrapped around it, Grant was sticking his head around the door.

“You decent?”

“Am I what?”

“Decent. Dressed. Suitable to entertain company.”

She had already relaxed her grip on the knife, and now she used the hand to push her hair back out of her eyes. “Depends entirely on who the company is.”

Her eyes were still filled with sleep, but she could have sworn that she saw him blush at that. Clearing his throat, he rubbed at the back of his neck. “JJ is here. She’s got word from the Second. She hasn’t said what it is yet, but -“

“It’s not good.” Robin was already out of bed, grabbing for a sweatshirt to pull on over her tank top. 

“I don’t think so, no.”

He turned and led her down the hallway toward the dining room. It was their third night staying with Martin and his sons, and they were set to move on in the morning before the sun had risen. Everyone was sitting or standing around the table, though, and running to their next hiding place was the last thing on Robin’s mind at that moment. Something had gone wrong - she could read that much from JJ’s face.

“Nice to see you awake, Princess,” she greeted.

“What happened?” Robin asked, not caring what the other woman thought of her. 

The great thing about JJ was that she didn’t dance around things. “Arrest warrants have gone out. Originally they were just for your sister and Tuck. After you escaped, Sam put warrants out for you and Grant, too. But since the four of you have proven so difficult to find, he’s expanding his reach - and the Regents are letting him. The call has gone out to take John, your mother, and Mary Markham - dead or alive.”

There were gasps all around the room. From where he was leaning against a nearby wall, Grant cursed under his breath and let out a long sigh as he ran a hand over his face. “The Regents actually let him put a warrant out for one of their own?”

Martin shrugged. “They’ve always wanted to take Rachel down. Now that they have proof that her children have been committing crimes against the city, they have everything they need to go after her.

JJ’s eyes never left Robin’s. “That’s not all. Norrington has announced that if you turn yourself in - you and Will both - he’ll let them go.”

That made everyone freeze. JJ stood up and walked across the room until she was standing right in front of Robin, her eyes hard. “Well?”

Robin shook her head, still reeling from the news. “I don’t know what you want from me, JJ.”

“I want to know if you’re going to see this thing through, or if you’re gonna go running to sacrifice yourself for Mommy and big brother. You’re worth more to us alive than dead, even if they do kill your family.”

Tuck rose from his chair. “JJ -“

“She’s right,” Will cut in. “Don’t look at me like that, Tuck.”

“How can you be so callous about it? This is our family, Will! And Mary? She was just trying to help a friend.”

“It’s not my fault that you feel guilty for dragging your girlfriend into this. She’s not some blindly devoted follower, Tuck. She knew what was going on. She knew she was committing treason by getting that antidote to Robin. She made her choice.”

They were almost in each other’s faces now, but no one moved to get between them. 

“And what if the positions were reversed, Will? Do you think Mom and John would let them hunt you down? Maybe put a bullet in you?”

“Mom would do whatever she had to do. She was always about two things, Tuck - family and the bigger picture. Sometimes the bigger picture means you have to lose people. It sucks and you do what you can to keep it from happening, but you don’t let the rest of the world burn because you’re too afraid to lose what you have!”

Robin stared at her sister, for the first time realizing that Will had learned more than any of them from their mother. She imagined that losing your children was the worst pain a person could go through, but their mom had already gone through it once. She had gone through it and survived and she wasn’t going to let it happen to anybody else. She was even willing to risk her second family to see her revolution through. Will had already lost Ollie, but she was still looking at the bigger picture. 

“She’s right,” Robin said quietly, cutting through the tense silence. “And even if you wanted to argue that Mom would give up everything to save us, you know that we can’t trust Sam. He’d kill us all if we turned ourselves in.”

Grant nodded. “And then he’d use that as his political platform. The Regents would probably replace your mother with him. Trust me…that man probably has enough dirt to keep all of the other Regents under his thumb until he made his move for the big seat. I don’t think there would be any stopping him.”

Robin looked back at JJ. “So to answer your question, I’m going to see this through. I will not roll over for Sam Norrington. That doesn’t mean we have to stand by and do nothing, though.” She turned to look at Grant. “Do you think we can get to them in time?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and thought for a long moment. “Unless your mom and John got into the tunnels already, I imagine they’ll be in cuffs soon. Sam would want to go after them first. That empties a Regent seat and takes out his two biggest problems within the Second.”

“Okay. What about Mary?”

“We might have a chance to save her.” He looked over at Tuck. “Does she have any place to hide? Does she know about the tunnels?”

“She knows the tunnels exist, but she’s never had a reason to come through to the Third. She’s well-liked, though. I think if someone found out about the warrants, they’d give her a heads up instead of turning her right in. Which means she’d avoid her apartment and the hospital.”

“Where else would she go?”

Tuck chewed on his bottom lip. “I told her once if she was ever in trouble to get to the church. If they’ve got a warrant out for me, though, they’ll be watching it.”

“It’s a place to start,” Grant said. “You up for a rescue mission?”

“Hell yes.”

Grant pointed at Robin. “You’re staying here.”

“But -“

“No. We are not arguing about this. JJ already said it - you’re worth more to the Third alive than dead, and I will not risk any more of us than I have to. So you and your sister will stay here, despite your ridiculous skill with those knives. Tuck and I are going to sneak in, grab Mary, and sneak out. No bloodshed. Everybody comes back.”

Robin stepped over to him and took one of his hands in her own. “You can’t promise that.”

“No,” he said, his voice softer, “I can’t. But I can promise you that I will try my best.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “Believe me when I tell you that there is no place I would rather be than with you - whether that’s in the middle of a revolution or on some quiet beach somewhere. You got that?”

She blinked back tears, not caring when one escaped and slid down her cheek. Nodding, Robin leaned in and kissed him gently. “I do.”

Grant squeezed her hand and stepped away. “Good. Keep the light on for us, okay?”

Robin gave him a small smile. “Always.”

He walked over to Tuck and the two of them began talking in low tones. JJ hadn’t moved from her spot and she took a moment to look Robin up and down. She seemed to be debating something internally.

“I’ll watch his back,” she said finally.

Robin frowned. “What?”

“Your detective. I’ll watch his back. Your brother’s too, but that’s always a given.”

“I would think you wouldn’t care if Grant came back or not.”

“I may not really like you, Princess, but I’m not questioning your loyalty anymore. And your detective has been right here in the trenches with us since your daring escape. I can respect that. 

Robin nodded, feeling more comfortable with JJ than she ever had before. “Just make sure you watch your own back, too, okay?”

JJ smirked at that. “Always.”


	26. Chapter 26

John was blind. 

The cops had burst into his office, practically taking the door off of its hinges in an effort to catch him unawares. Despite Sam’s growing power, though, John and Rachel both had friends within the Second, and they had known that the warrants had gone out. They had talked about running and joining the rest of the family on the other side of the Wall, but ultimately they had decided against it. The reports coming from the Third were disturbing, and both he and his mother knew that if Sam Norrington didn’t get to arrest somebody, he was going to continue his vendetta against the people. There were already enough raids and interrogations. Maybe if something went the detective’s way for once, he’d ease off of everyone else for a little while. 

That knowledge didn’t keep his heart from pounding as they slammed a black hood over his head, cuffed his hands behind his back, and marched him out of his office. John refused to let it show, though. He kept his head high and kept up with his captors as well as he could. If Sam had been hoping that he’d put on a show of screaming and begging for his life as he was dragged out of the Regent Headquarters, he was going to be sorely disappointed. 

John lost track of time and distance. He had expected to be marched through the streets to the police precinct, but found himself thrown into the back of what he assumed was a van. He tried to picture the streets in his mind in an effort to figure out where they were taking him; the van had disoriented him, though, and he had no clue which direction they were even driving in. No one spoke as they drove, and John wasn’t about to be the one to start a conversation. A voice could betray your feelings, but silence wouldn’t tell them anything. 

When they eventually stopped, hands seemed to come from every side to drag him out and make him start walking again. Doors opened and closed around him, but nothing gave him any hints as to where he was. He almost fell down the stairs that suddenly opened up in front of him; one of the hands that seemed to be everywhere caught the back of his shirt just in time to save him. John would have been a little more cautious from that point on, but he was forced down at a quicker speed. He jarred his right knee a little bit when they suddenly ran out of stairs, but he didn’t have time to worry about it before the hood was yanked off of him and he was violently shoved forward. 

He spun around, hoping to catch sight of his kidnappers. The door was already closing, though, and his eyes were still struggling to adjust to the light in the room. 

“Oh, thank God you’re alive.”

John turned at the sound of his mother’s voice, relief sweeping through him. He stepped forward and hugged her tightly, pressing a kiss to her temple. After a few long moments, he pulled back slightly to get a better look at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did they hurt you?”

Rachel shook her head. “They were almost gentle with me. Sam might be growing in power, but that doesn’t mean he’s brazen enough to manhandle me even with a warrant for my arrest.”

“Has he said anything to you yet? Anything that might tell you where we are or what he plans to do with us?”

“Sam hasn’t been down here since he threw me in a little while ago. I imagine he plans to use us a trap for your sisters, as well as some political gain. As to where we are…I think I have a pretty good idea of that as well.”

Rachel gestured with one hand and John looked into the shadows in a far corner of the room they were in. Something moved within the darkness and he felt fear clutch at him again until the person materialized and he realized who he was looking at. Then his mouth dropped open and everything he thought he understood left him entirely.

“Mayor?”


	27. Chapter 27

Grant, Tucker, and JJ made their way through the tunnels quickly, moving as silently as possible. Sam knew about the underground system of transportation, but they had decided that there was no way he could possibly block all of the ways in and out of the Third. Not only did he not have enough men to spare for that kind of guard work, but it was unlikely that Sam was aware of every tunnel. As far as anybody knew, there were no maps drawn for the entirety of the system. 

There had been a lot of debate about where to enter the Second. Martin himself had spent a significant amount of time in the tunnels and he did his best to offer them a variety of choices. Regent Headquarters was completely out of the question. Aside from the fact that it was right down the street from the police precinct and probably very well-guarded, it was also too far away from Tuck’s church. Crossing most of the Second was too much of a risk for any of them to take.

The church itself was a logical point of entry, but the three of them had argued on the relative danger of it. Tuck’s involvement was not a secret, and JJ herself explained how the police had come in and swept the whole place from top to bottom. The tunnel entrance that they had used to smuggle most of the money was well-hidden in a wardrobe, but JJ couldn’t confirm that the cops hadn’t found it. They could exit the wardrobe to find themselves in a room filled with people that wanted nothing more than to arrest them. 

“Why don’t you just use the tunnel that comes up in the old wine cellar then?” Martin asked.

All three of them turned to look at the burly priest. 

“What tunnel?” Tuck asked. 

“You have a wine cellar in your church?” Grant questioned.

“That really shouldn’t surprise you, Gillthane,” JJ pointed out.

Martin ignored both of them and focused on Tuck. “When I first got involved in what was happening, I made it my business to find out how to move between churches on both sides of the Wall. I heard rumors that there were three tunnels running between my church and yours - the one that leads into that office is one of them. The wine cellar is another.”

“What about the third one?” Grant asked.

Martin shook his head. “I never found it. It might not be anything more than a myth. Stories about the tunnels are widespread and not completely reliable. The wine cellar, though…that will give you a better place to drop into. It opens up in a shadowy corner in the back, giving you a chance to see the room before the room can see you, if you know what I mean. From there you’ll be able to scope things out and move through the rest of the building.” He scratched at his ear. “You might not like the trip too much, though.”

Now they were finding out what exactly he had meant by that. It was harder to move quietly when their way was sometimes blocked by water that came up to their thighs, but they did the best that they could. Grant knew that the city was built around a few large rivers - it was how they got their water and some of their electricity. The water they were moving through smelled sharp and tangy, though, and when he dipped a finger in it to taste it, there was definitely salt in it. 

JJ motioned for them to stop and the two men watched as she felt along the wall. Martin hadn’t written anything down for them, but JJ had listened carefully and committed all of it to memory. She had seemed confident the entire time she led them through the tunnels, and Grant couldn’t see any hesitation in her now. 

Suddenly, the wall in front of JJ moved, and she disappeared into the shadowy opening. They waited for a few anxious moments for the pre-arranged signal they had set up, and once they heard the patterned tapping, they both eased themselves into the entrance. 

The wine cellar was empty. Grant had his gun out anyway as they moved through the room, ready to put a bullet into anyone that was loyal to Sam. He didn’t relish the thought of having to put a fellow cop down, but there was too much at stake for him to quibble over it. If it came down to them or him, or any of the people he was protecting, it was not going to be a difficult choice. 

The wine cellar led out into the rest of the basement, which also proved to be empty. Grant craned his neck up to check the stairs leading up into the church proper, and when he saw that the door was shut he lowered his gun and turned to face the others. 

“Do you have any idea where Mary might hide in here? Are there any hidden nooks or crannies upstairs where she might feel safe?”

Tuck shook his head, looking around the dark basement. “There are plenty of offices, but if someone came in, she’d be trapped like a rat. I don’t think she’d do that to herself. 

“Well we’d better start searching the next floor. The sooner we find her -“

“Stop talking,” JJ said, cutting them off. 

Both men did as they were told and JJ moved deeper into the basement, keeping her steps as silent as possible. She took a few more steps in one direction before changing her mind and turning slightly to her right, her hand eventually coming in contact with one of the far walls. JJ walked along the edge of the room, her hand trailing along the stone as she stared at the wall intently. Eventually she came up against a mirror leaning against the wall, dusty and forgotten. She looked at her reflection for a moment and then suddenly picked the mirror up, grunting slightly under the weight as she moved it to the side. The three of them found themselves staring at the third tunnel into the church - and also at Mary Markham, a sharp blade in her hand.

“Mary,” Tuck breathed, surging forward. She lowered her weapon just before he engulfed her in his arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

She gave him a shaky smile as they parted again. “I think I’m a little bit lower on their priority list,” she said. “Tuck, I’m sorry. They arrested Rachel and John a few hours ago.”

They had expected that all along, but Grant still cursed at the news. Tuck just nodded. “That’s okay. We’ve got you and we’re going to get you some place safer, okay?” He nodded at the tunnel behind her. “Any idea where that goes?”

Mary shook her head. “I’m guessing it would eventually take us to the Third, but I didn’t really want to get lost down there. Or worse - come up in some place surrounded by Sam and his men.”

“We could use it now,” JJ suggested. “Could turn out to be useful later on.”

Grant stared at the dark opening before shaking his head. “Too risky,” he decided. “Mary was smart for not heading down that way. We’ve got a known way out of here and back to where we need to be. I say we use it.”

No one else argued and they covered up the tunnel before heading back to the wine cellar. JJ took the lead again as they headed down below the city, with Grant right behind her. Once they got a little further on, he would drop back and guard their rear, just in case someone had heard them leaving the church. Before he could trade places with Tuck, though, something caught his attention and he froze.

“JJ…”

The sound came again - something moving through the water - and Grant reached out to pull JJ down and out of any line of fire. She was faster than him, though, and she ended up pushing him down, just as bullets came slamming out of the darkness. Grant felt them hit JJ in the back; he saw the light go out of her eyes as they killed her almost instantaneously. He felt her become dead weight in his arms, cold water swirling around their ankles as more bullets flew by him.

“BACK!” he bellowed. 

Grant didn’t have time to see if Tuck and Mary followed his command. He raised his own weapon and fired blindly into the shadows, his only goal to provide cover for the others to escape. There was a cry from someone up ahead and a splash as a body hit the water. His gun empty, Grant knew he didn’t have any way to sufficiently defend himself down there any longer. Instead, he turned and headed for the opening again, eyes sliding painfully over JJ’s body before he slipped back into the wine cellar.

He almost made it. As he moved through the opening, Grant felt a hand grab a fistful of his shirt and try to yank him backwards. He threw a hard elbow behind him and felt a satisfying crunch when the blow landed. The hold on him loosened and he was able to get fully into the room before his pursuer regained his balance. Grant hoped that the others were moving toward the other tunnel; his biggest job at that moment was to make sure that no one followed them. Eyes sweeping over the room, he reached out and picked up a dusty bottle of wine, glad when he felt its solid weight in his hand. In one continuous motion, he spun and swung the bottle as hard as he could, connecting with the head of the man coming up behind him. Grant had just enough time to register that he knew him - Percy Eckhart, a young cop who had just finished his training - before the bottle was shattering and Percy was crumpling to the floor as though the bones had completely disappeared from his legs. Still holding the broken bottleneck in one hand and breathing heavily, he squatted down and felt for a pulse. A small pang of regret pierced him when he couldn’t find one, but he didn’t have any time to pity the dead. Instead, he reached down and took Percy’s gun off him before dropping his improvised weapon and securing the door that led down into the tunnel. He didn’t spare Percy another glance as he left the wine cellar and headed back into the main basement, shutting the door firmly behind him. He caught a glint of Mary’s knife in the darkness and held up both hands.

“Just me,” he announced, keeping his voice low. “And I would prefer it if you didn’t slice me up.”

Tuck stepped forward. “Everything okay?”

“Not exactly. We lost JJ.” Grant saw Tuck’s eyes flick to the wine cellar and he reached out a hand to stop the priest. “I know. But we cannot carry her body through the tunnels, Tuck. You know what she would call us if we even tried.” He grimaced. “I killed at least one cop back there. At the very least, I shot another one. I closed up the entrance to the tunnel on my way out. Looks like we’re gonna find out where the legendary third one takes us.”

He could see that Tuck still didn’t want to leave JJ down there, but they didn’t have any other choice. Grant patted him on the shoulder in sympathy and then moved toward the other tunnel. “I’ll guard the rear if you lead us, Father.”

Tuck stared at the door for a moment more and then nodded, taking his place at the head of their little group.


	28. Chapter 28

Everything felt surreal as John found himself sitting down at a small table with his mother and the Mayor. The room they were imprisoned in was large, and judging by the stairs he had been forced down, John could guess that they were in a basement of sorts. That still didn’t tell him exactly where they were, but that was only one of the many questions flying around his head at that moment.

“First of all,” the Mayor said, “We’re in my house inside of the First. This room used to be an underground library, though my predecessor had all of the books moved upstairs during his tenure. I hadn’t quite figured out what to do with the space yet. And now it’s my prison.”

John rubbed at his forehead. “Sir…I’m sorry. I just…I don’t understand.”

The Mayor took a long breath, leaning forward with his arms braced on the table. In the low light of the room, his dark skin looked like it was lined with crevasses, and he looked even older than his shock of white hair would suggest. “I was arrested about a week ago,” he explained. “We don’t have many provisions for arresting a Mayor in our bylaws, but the reason I was given was treason. I was accused of misleading the people and inciting discord.” He waved a careless hand. “Vague and ridiculous charges, but it’s hard to be specific when the person you’re hunting hasn’t actually done anything wrong.”

“But don’t you need the approval of the Regents for an arrest?”

The Mayor gave him a small smile. “I see you know the laws well, John. I always knew you’d make a good leader. And yes…you need approval. Unfortunately, it does not have to be from all of the Regents. I think the lawmakers were worried that if they required a unanimous vote and one or more of the Regents were in league with the treasonous Mayor, then the people would never be able to depose him.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, though,” John argued. “I know the other Regents. Some of them aren’t very bright. Most of them are greedy. But I have a hard time believing that a strong majority would want you arrested.”

“I happen to agree,” Rachel said, “which is how I know that Sam Norrington is the one ultimately behind this. The only thing that could make those Regents agree on anything of this magnitude would be blackmail. You and I both know that Sam does his best to keep his finger on the pulse of the Regents. He always wants to make sure that he has a card to play against anyone that might oppose him.” She let out a humorless chuckle. “All this time, and I believe that the other Regents convinced themselves that Sam was nothing more than a tool that they used. They thought that he was just one man, and that there was no way he could be that dangerous. And while they were busy telling themselves lies, Sam was building his base - gaining the loyalty of those beneath him, learning more secrets about the people around him…he just bided his time until the moment arrived when he could make a move. Which, unfortunately, I think we handed to him when Robin got infected.”

The Mayor shook his head. “His moment would have come no matter what. What he really wanted was to marry Robin and use her as leverage to gain even more power with the Regents. Honestly, I think it’s better that he’s calling for her head instead of her hand in marriage.”

“What about your guards?” John asked. “They didn’t stand up for you?”

“And that is where my biggest mistake comes in,” the Mayor said, letting out a tired sigh. “I didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on in my own home. Over the past few months, my guards have slowly been changing. In and of itself that’s not too odd, but if I had been alert, I would have seen that it wasn’t the regular rotation. Slowly but surely, Sam Norrington replaced all of my men with former cops that are loyal to him alone. When he showed up with the warrant signed by a majority of Regents, there was no one here to stand up for me.”

John leaned back in his chair, staring across the room into the shadows the Mayor had originally been standing in. They had all known that Sam was a threat, but now he was beginning to see that they had severely underestimated the man. 

“What’s his game plan?” he finally asked. “He can’t honestly think that he’s going to take your place.”

“Not right away,” Rachel replied. “The Regents would pick someone else to replace the Mayor, someone well-connected to the majority of them. Since Sam was the one that afforded them that opportunity, he would have more access to that successor. Maybe he digs up an unsavory past on the new Mayor, or invents a dark secret for them, and gets rid of that person as well. Eventually he would be able to convince them that the only logical choice would be to put him in power.”

The Mayor shook his head. “There’s another way. We’ve said it time and again - Norrington is not a stupid man. He knows your daughters, Rachel, and he knows how angry the people of the Third are. If he can ignite the people…create a spark that erupts into an engulfing blaze…all of the fears of the Regents would be realized. They would order the police to forcibly control the situation, and the obvious choice to lead that endeavor would be Norrington. This would turn into a police state with him at the head. And by the time the Regents realized that all of the physical might of the city rested with him…it would already be too late.”

John looked from the Mayor to his mother and back again. “We’re the spark, aren’t we?”

The older man nodded. “I think that’s Norrington’s plan. He’ll announce a public execution - your mother told me about the scouts from the Third who reported to Sam that the outside world isn’t this scary wasteland we’ve all been led to believe that it was - and that will draw your sisters in. They’ll try to save you and your mother, while the Third tries to take back their city. It’ll be a bloodbath, unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless Sam has underestimated his enemies the way we underestimated him. If one of your sisters can take Sam out, then we’ve cut off the head of the snake. Everything depends on them.”

John tried to take all of that in, one of his fingernails scratching at the wood of the table. “Sir, can I ask you a question?”

The Mayor shrugged. “Sure. It’s not like I have a lot of pressing business locked down here.”

“Sam kept those scouts from getting to you and telling you about what they had seen outside of the city…but don’t you have a view from your top floor of the surrounding area? You’re the only one that gets to look out at the world we left behind.”

“And you want to know why I kept what I saw from the people?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a fair enough question,” the Mayor agreed. “You’re right, of course. I can see the world outside of our walls from one of my windows. I’m the only one allowed to look out it, though I have been known to secretly share the view from time to time. And I did notice that there don’t seem to be any infected wandering around. I see animals and trees and a lot of green. It’s quite beautiful, actually. And I’ve been realizing that we might not need our walls anymore.”

“We had a plan, John,” Rachel cut in. “You can’t just tell people who have spent their entire lives closed in that they can suddenly go out into the world. The Mayor and I have been coming up with a way to do it gradually, so that it’s less of a shock to the system. Those who are truly brave and adventurous can go out and start putting down roots, while those who prefer the more structured and protected life of a city can stay where they feel safest. It was going to change everything.”

“Which is why Sam had to put a stop to it,” John said, putting the pieces together. “More freedom means less power for him. Right now the people only stay because they need him.”

“And men like Sam Norrington have to be needed,” she replied. “They will do anything to make sure others are completely dependent on them.” She gave a small smile and gestured to the room around them. “Obviously.”

“And now all we can do is wait?” John asked. 

“Wait and pray,” the Mayor said. “Your sisters are a considerable force when on their own, John. If I were Sam…I’d be damn afraid of the storm they’re going to unleash when they combine.”

John nodded. “Let’s just hope everything we love doesn’t get washed away in the flood.”


	29. Chapter 29

Robin couldn’t help but stare at Grant as they all sat down around Martin’s table again. People had been posted at the tunnel entrance in Martin’s church, but the rescue party had never shown up there. Instead, they had appeared hours later on the other side of the Third, wet and bedraggled and one person short. Grant had told them about what had happened - finding Mary and the other tunnel, getting ambushed, losing JJ - and Robin was still reeling from how close they had come to losing all of them. Grant seemed to feel her eyes on him and he reached out to place his hand on top of hers. The contact grounded her and she took a shaky breath, forcing herself to focus on the others.

“I wish I had better news,” Mary was saying. “And unfortunately, it gets worse from what I told you earlier. Yes, John and Rachel have been arrested. Just before I hid in the church, though, an old friend of mine tipped me off.” She looked at Tuck, her expression pained. “They’re going to be executed on the Day of Reckoning, along with the thirteen scouts that came back from outside of the walls.”

Robin’s stomach turned. The Day of Reckoning - a day to remember and mourn everything that had been lost during the Outbreak - was only three days away. She felt Grant squeezing her hand, but everything inside of her just felt numb. 

“I’m going to ask you all to refrain from jumping down my throat,” Will said. “But this is it. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

Grant nodded. “I hate to say it, but you’re right. I know the Third has already been planning to stop the executions long before Rachel and John were ever a factor. This will be huge for Sam, though. Politically and personally. All of the major players will be there and we should be able to end this thing.”

“You know the only way to end this is to kill Sam,” Tuck pointed out. “It’s the only way to break his hold on the Regents.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Robin said, her voice low and hard. She looked over at Martin. “Can everything be ready in three days?”

“Yes. Most of it already is. Those people who are invested in this have been waiting for their moment.”

“Good. Will and I can distract Sam while the Third makes its move.”

Tuck frowned. “You and Will can’t go back to the Second, Robin. He’ll kill you.”

Robin looked up at him. “That bastard has tried to take everything we love away from us. We’ve lost people. He’s squeezing the life out of the Third just so that he can hold onto power that was never rightfully his to begin with. If your revolution is going to work, you need a distraction. And we need to do whatever we can to save Mom and John. So Will and I will sneak back into the Second and join the crowd that gathers. He’ll never see it coming.”

“He’ll expect something,” Grant pointed out.

“Expecting something and really being ready for it are too different things,” Will replied. “Yeah, Sam is probably hoping to lure us out with this execution. But I’m doubting he’s ready for my knife to fly into his throat.” She looked across the table at her sister. “Or yours, Robbie.”

Robin gave her a cold smile. “We’ll just have to see whose blade is faster.”

Grant shrugged at Tuck. “You know there’s no arguing with them, right?”

He nodded. “I know.”

“Besides, I personally feel better about our odds with them fighting on our side.”

“Now that that’s settled,” Martin said, pushing himself up from his chair, “let me go get the others. We’ve got a lot of plans to finalize in the next couple of days and there are a lot of people involved. I suggest someone put a big pot of coffee on…it’s going to be a long night."


	30. Chapter 30

The sisters did their hair together.

Robin opted to dye hers red. She was known in the Second for her long blond hair and her sophisticated and elegant air - at least according to Will and Grant. The deep red that she chose made her seem years younger, and with some makeup and a hooded jacket, she almost didn’t recognize herself in the mirror. It was such a quick and painless process, and yet, staring at her own reflection, she almost felt like it had changed everything.

“Here.”

She turned to see Will standing there, a pair of scissors in her hand. Robin groaned.

“I don’t need to cut it, too, do I?”

“The scissors are for me, dummy.”

“Oh.” Robin set down her towel and took the scissors from her. “How short do you want it?”

“Just cut it all.”

Her eyebrows rose at that. “Should I get out the razor instead?”

Will smirked. “Not that short, okay? Just…you know what I mean, Robbie.”

She nodded and took a deep breath to steady her hands and her nerves. Will stepped in front of the mirror and Robin stood just behind her, running her fingers through her sister’s long dark locks.

“Ollie would kill me for doing this,” Will said, her mouth twisted in a sad smile. “He always loved my hair.”

“I think he’d get over it,” Robin said quietly. “He’d still love to run his fingers through it. Plus, he’d call you a total badass for cutting it all off.”

“I need him dead, Robbie,” she whispered, her voice shaking.

Robin paused before taking the first cut. “If any of us has a shot, we take it. Agreed?”

Will nodded. “I don’t care who does it. I just need him dead.”

Robin met her eyes in the mirror. “I think we all do.”


	31. Chapter 31

Robin couldn’t sleep. She knew that she needed her rest. The next day was going to be the most difficult she had ever faced and it wouldn’t be any easier if she was exhausted on top of everything else. Her mind raced, though, playing out every single way their plans could go awry. In her head, she saw her family die at the hands of Sam. She saw Grant go down under a hail of bullets. She watched as the people of the Third were bottlenecked and slaughtered. She saw Sam watching all of it with a satisfied expression as his power solidified. 

Eventually, Robin just threw in the towel and sat up, turning on the lamp beside her bed. If she couldn’t sleep, she might as well see if there was anything else she could do to help.

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

Her head jerked up at the voice, and she saw Grant leaning against the open doorway.

“Sleep seems to be a luxury these days,” she replied. “And not one that I’m privy to.” She sighed, dropping her head into her hands. “I never meant to start a revolution.”

Grant snorted and came all the way into the room. “Bullshit.”

Robin’s head snapped up and she gave him a hard look. “I didn’t.”

He shook his head as he sat down next to her on the bed. “Sorry, Robin, but I just don’t buy it. You’re too damn smart for that. Maybe nobody ever mentioned it out loud. Maybe you didn’t even let yourself think about it too often. But you knew what you were doing and what you were doing it for.”

She wanted to argue with him, but lying to herself wasn’t worth the energy anymore. “Everyone I love is in danger,” she said instead, her voice quiet. “Ollie is dead. All because of me.”

“Because you chose to stand for something. And because they chose to stand with you. That’s an important distinction. Nobody went into this blind. No innocent bystanders are getting caught in the crossfire -“

“What about the people being beaten?” Robin asked, cutting him off. “What about the people whose homes have been raided and ransacked? People are paying the price for my transgressions and yet they still refuse to turn me in.”

“The majority of people in the Third would rather watch the city burn than let Sam Norrington gain any more power.” Grant paused, reaching out to touch the back of her hand. “But you know all of this already, Robin? You’ve heard Martin’s story. You’ve met the other leaders who are ready to go to war. Why are you questioning yourself again?”

“Because I’m afraid,” she admitted. “Everything hinges on tomorrow. People could get slaughtered and still change nothing. Mom and John could be executed. I could lose Will, or Tuck…” She turned her head to look at him. “I could lose you.”

Grant entwined his fingers with hers and then brought their combined hands to his lips for a soft kiss. “We could lose everything,” he agreed, “but some things are worth everything.”

Robin held his gaze for a few seconds before rolling her eyes at him. “You’re such a sap, Grant Gillthane.”

He shrugged. “I work with what I’ve got.” His smile grew and he ran his free hand over her hair. “I like the red.”

“Really? You don’t think it makes me look like a different person?”

“Well, you’re a different person every day, Robin. I’m just glad I get to know each and every one of them.”

She laughed out loud at that before leaning in and pressing her forehead against his. “Sap,” she whispered.

“Yeah, but I like to think that I’m your sap.”

“I think that’s pretty much a given at this point.” Robin closed her eyes and exhaled. “Stay?”

“Of course.”

She nodded and then pulled away, lying down on her side. Grant reached over and shut off the light before joining her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against his chest. It took them a minute to get situated comfortably, but once they were, Robin found herself relaxing almost immediately.

“Sleep,” Grant murmured. “You don’t have to change the world until tomorrow.”


	32. Chapter 32

Robin could feel the weight of the knives she had hidden under her clothes. As she and Will walked through the crowded streets of the Second, she felt hidden and exposed all at the same time. There were eyes everywhere, but they weren’t trained on her. They passed by cops with their guns and their suspicions, but the sisters were nothing more than faceless ghosts in a sea of people that they didn’t really see. 

The gallows were set up in the square in front of Tuck’s church. Robin wasn’t sure if that was another way for Sam to make an example of the Hueller family, or if the spot had been determined long before, but it didn’t really matter. The Third would use whatever tools it had available to them. 

The crowd was large. A certain number of people had been let in from the Third, though they had all been thoroughly searched for any kind of weapon. She and Will had come up through a rarely-used tunnel that had deposited them on the edges of the Second, unwilling to go through a search like that. Robin knew that both of them had hidden their knives well, but if either of them was caught at the gate or recognized, their plan would be over before it ever really got off the ground. 

The Day of Reckoning was not celebrated in the city, but it was observed by all. There were no bright colors or laughing faces. Somber blacks, browns, and grays dominated the clothing that people wore, making everyone look like a smaller part of a whole instead of individuals. Robin forced herself not to make eye contact or to scan the faces. There were bound to be people she knew personally in the crowd, but she couldn’t let herself think about them, or the fact that they might get hurt in the chaos that was going to ensue. She only had two goals she could focus on - kill Sam and save her family. Everything else had to be locked away in another part of her mind. 

The two of them managed to push their way to the center of the crowd just before the prisoners were brought out. There wasn’t much of a reaction from the crowd until Rachel and John were marched out. There were gasps and then a collective stillness, and Robin could actually feel the shift in mood. Police stood on either side of the platform with guns trained on the prisoners. A safety measure in case one of them broke free, they were also the ones that would move down the line and put a bullet in each of the guilty after they had been infected. 

While the crowd was still dealing with the shock of seeing a Regent and her son amongst the prisoners, one more person was brought out. Robin felt her own mouth drop open as the Mayor was walked about by none other than Sam himself, and positioned right next to Rachel. She watched the two of them - friends for as long as she could remember - share a silent, heavy look; neither of them seemed surprised that their paths had led them to that moment. Robin turned to her left to find her sister staring at her from her position in the crowd. None of them could have predicted that the Mayor himself would be accused and executed. If the Regents were willing to sacrifice him…?

“It is on this Day of Reckoning,” Sam said loudly, facing the crowd below and before him, “that we remember the hubris of those who came before us. We remember that it was their carelessness and their blindness that led to a world wiped out. We remember that everything we have gained can be lost again in an instant if we close our eyes to the things happening right in front of us.

These men and women behind me are not petty criminals. They didn’t steal a loaf of bread or assault someone out of anger. They weren’t found with illegal goods or found trespassing in places that they didn’t belong. No, we understand that there are different levels of crime, and we only hold the most heinous of criminals accountable on the Day of Reckoning. 

These men and women are traitors. Traitors to the city, and to each and every one of us here today. They have actively worked against the government and the Regents to further their own agendas. They have put our city in grave danger because of their selfishness. They have tried to corrupt us from the inside, and that is something that we cannot tolerate. As a people and as a community, we cannot let this stand unpunished.

I know that there are people up here that some of you never expected to see. I know that many of you recognize our very own Mayor. The Regents,” he gestured to the twelve men and women sitting on a raised platform to his left, “were just as shocked as you to discover his treachery. To protect the city, to protect you, they have taken a stand and taken his title. This man is no longer your Mayor, because he has betrayed the oath he took when he took the office. He is nothing more than Peter Forster…a traitor and a man slated for execution. Along with Rachel and John Hueller, he worked to destroy our city and our way of life. This cannot be ignored and it cannot be forgiven. They must pay in blood so that the rest of us can continue to be safe and free.”

Sam moved until he was standing right behind Rachel, and Robin’s whole body tensed. She had expected Sam to start at either end of the line and work his way down, but one of his men was handing him the gun that would shoot the virus into her body. Robin’s hand dipped into one of the folds in her clothes and she grabbed a blade, knowing that Will would be doing the same. If Sam could just lean a little one side, one of them would have a clear enough shot.

“Let her speak!”

Everyone turned to stare at the Regents. Robin recognized Serena Coaler from countless political functions, though she couldn’t recall the contents of a single conversation she’d had with the woman. Regardless, she welcomed the interruption.

“With all due respect, Madam Regent,” Sam replied, “that’s not standard.”

“It’s not standard to execute a Regent, either,” Serena retorted. “Especially not one held in such esteem by the people. You will show her one last measure of dignity, Mr. Norrington. Let her speak.” Her eyes moved to Rachel’s. “I advise you to keep it short and to the point.”

“I don’t have much to say,” Rachel replied, her voice easily carrying out over the silent crowd. “Only that decisions have been made, and that I wouldn’t change it now even if I could go back. The right thing has been done. The right thing will be done. There’s no stopping it now.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed dangerously and Robin got ready to throw her knife. A cop jogged up onto the platform just then, though, and leaned in close to whisper something in Sam’s ear. The detective’s smug grin made Robin’s stomach knot, and she shared another worried look with her sister.

“There’s always room for one more,” Sam said just loud enough to be heard. 

There was a scuffle at the stairs and then Robin felt her knees go weak. Grant was dragged onto the platform, his face bruised and bleeding. He struggled against his captors, but two of Sam’s largest men had a firm grip on his arms. For his part, Sam looked like everything had just fallen into place for him, and as Grant was forced to stand next to the Mayor, his former partner smiled at him almost gleefully.

“Another traitor apprehended!” he announced to the crowd. “Though I regret to inform you that this man was once my partner, obligated to uphold the same laws that I’m upholding right now, I’m glad that he’s been caught before he could cause any further damage. Your treachery ends here, I’m afraid. May God have mercy on your souls.”

Grant and Rachel shared a long look as Sam moved back to his position and raised his gun again. Robin was already moving to her right, doing her best to not draw any attention from those on the platform. She couldn’t get as far as she wanted to, but she was out of time. Angling her body even as she pulled the blade out, she let the knife fly. She didn’t have a clear path for a kill shot, but the blade landed true, lodging itself deep into Sam’s hand, forcing him to drop the gun before he could infect Rachel. 

Robin didn’t have to turn to know that Will’s blades were already hitting their marks as more and more of Sam’s cops went down before they could even make sense of what was happening. The crowd had erupted as soon bodies starting dropping and Robin felt as though she were moving against a strong tide as screams filled the air. She fought her way through to the platform and climbed atop it, desperately searching for her family and Grant. 

Grant had been ready for the chaos and had taken his chance to rid himself of the men trying to hold him still. Both were down by the time Robin reached him and though she was relieved, she couldn’t stop. Her eyes sought out John and her heart lodged in her throat when she saw that he was fighting off Sam. Her brother was no match for the detective when it came to size, and Sam was slowly gaining the upper hand. Robin pulled out another one of her knives.

“MOM!”

Rachel spun at the sound of her daughter’s voice and easily caught the blade that Robin threw to her. Robin hadn’t had the chance to see her mother fight since she was a child and in training; age had taken nothing from Rachel’s grace and mobility. With an easy turn, she nicked Sam across one wrist with the blade, forcing him to let go of John. Rachel spun again and this time the knife cut across his shoulder blades and the man howled in rage, arching back against the pain. 

That was when the church exploded. 

The force of the blast knocked everyone off their feet. Mortar and stone rained down on the entire square as the fire engulfed those buildings around the church. Robin knew how much explosive material had been packed into that newly discovered tunnel that came out in the basement, and yet she was still shocked by the sheer power of detonation. People were screaming, unsure of which direction to run in, but those who had come in from the Third through tunnels all over the city used the chaos to make their move. Muzzles flashed as bullets were fired, but the sounds were drowned out by the confusion and the madness. Robin yanked the hood off of her head and struggled to regain her footing. She had enough time to realize that Sam and Grant were getting up as well, but as the men squared off against each other, Robin’s eyes were locked on her mother and the cop that had come up behind her. Robin’s warning cry was still caught in her throat when the rookie picked up the gun that Sam had dropped and fired it point blank into Rachel’s back. The former Regent stumbled and cried out in pain. Her executioner only had a moment to enjoy his victory; Will appeared out of the smoke and reached around him, slashing his throat so deeply that he couldn’t make a sound as the blood poured out of him. 

Rachel’s knees buckled beneath her and Will rushed to her side, catching her and lowering her gently to the ground. Robin felt her own body weaken, but a pained groan made her turn aside. For a moment she watched Sam and Grant fighting for control of a gun, not fully comprehending what she was watching. Everything felt fluid in that moment, as though she were watching the path of her life try solidify into how it would be until the end of her days. It was when her gaze landed on Sam’s face, though, and she saw the unbridled fire in his eyes that she realized it wasn’t over. It couldn’t be over. Not until this man who would be king was lying dead on the ground.

She didn’t throw the knife. It never left her hand as she surged forward, plunging it into Sam’s throat. He had never even realized that she was there, and as he lost his grip on Grant, his eyes searched hers as though asking how she could have done that. The confusion she saw in his face tugged at her, making her understand that he had never meant to be evil. He had truly believed his choices to be the right ones even though he had been horrifically wrong. 

Robin didn’t watch him hit the ground. Even as the rest of the fighters from the Third continued to battle the cops who stood against them, her only concern was her mother. She slid to her knees beside Rachel’s body, already able to see the virus taking effect. The strain used in executions worked faster than the original virus ever had, and unlike the virus that the cops carried, there was no antidote. 

“Do it,” Rachel whispered, her voice hoarse and ragged. “Please.”

Robin was weeping and shaking her head, looking up at the others that surrounded them. Tuck had made his way to the platform, his face cut up and his shirt stained with blood. Will cradled their mother’s head in her lap, sobs wracking her body; John just held her hand as tears fell down his face. Robin felt a hand squeeze her shoulder and she knew that Grant was there, but she couldn’t see anything except her family falling apart. 

“I’ll do it, Rachel,” a voice said softly.

They all turned to see the Mayor - Peter - standing there, a gun in his hands. He knelt down for a moment and brushed the hair out of Rachel’s face, a sad smile on his face. 

“My oldest and dearest friend,” he murmured. “You’ve saved us all and we can never repay you for that. You’ve done your part. Go quietly and be at peace.”

The virus had progressed far enough that her vocal chords had ceased to function properly, and they all knew what would happen next. Peter got back to his feet and carefully aimed the gun.

“You have to let her go, Willow,” he said. “I can’t risk shooting you as well.”

Will didn’t argue. Gently, she lowered her mother’s head to the ground and pressed a kiss to her temple. John helped her back to her feet and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her tightly. Robin rose as well and felt Grant’s hand slip into hers, but she couldn’t look at anything other than her mother. Even through the din and the chaos around them, the gun was surprisingly loud and she jumped as the bullet entered Rachel’s forehead, killing the woman and the virus. Peter lowered the gun slowly but no one moved.

They let the world change around them.


End file.
